A Visitor From The Future
by SuperAang626
Summary: A mysterious blaze in a town known as Greenton, summons the Planeteers to its aid; but what happens when Wheeler and Linka are accused of being the cause of the fire's blaze; All because a little boy was seen with duplicates of their ring powers?
1. Chapter One: Mysterious Blaze

The weather was always warm and rich on Hope Island, and it wasn't everyday that the Planeteers had a chance to kick back and relax, on a nice day like it was, the group of five friends had decided to have some fun down on the beautiful beach that surrounded Hope Island.

The volley ball net was set up; Wheeler and Ma-ti were enjoying a game against Linka and Gi while Kwame decided to coach, so far the girls were in the lead "Come on Wheeler, you can do better than that!" Ma-ti teased he's older friend, who had fallen flat on his stomach on the sand for the third time. Shaking his head and spitting some sand out of his mouth, Wheeler glared slightly over at Ma-ti while Linka and Gi giggled "Give me a break Ma-ti, I haven't played this game for a while!"

Tossing the ball back over the net to Gi, Ma-ti just laughed, Linka made her way over closer to the net and bending down to look under the gap at Wheeler, she reached over her finger and gently tapped him on the nose, playfully teasing "Oh Wheeler, Ma-ti is right, looks like you might be losing your touch Yankee!" Blinking his sky blue eyes, Wheeler flashed the Russian blond a cocky sort of smile "Heh maybe, but I know there is one thing I haven't lost my touch with babe" He had leaned his face forwards in hopes of getting closer to Linka, who just smirked with a raised eye brow and held up her hand between his lips and hers "Bozhe moi Wheeler, you never stop amazing me!"

Kwame who had stepped forwards smiled "Not to interrupt but are we planning on finishing this game?" Wheeler looked up at his friend, before smiling and getting to his feet "Sorry Kwame, sure let's get this game on the road, I still say Ma-ti and I have a chance at beating Linka and Gi." Linka had gotten back to her feet and couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle another giggle; Wheeler always had a habit of not admitting defeat when it came to a friendly game between them "Oh Wheeler, why can't you just admit it, Gi and I have beaten you!" Turning his attention to Linka, Wheeler just grinned "I wouldn't go thinking on that too much babe, Ma-ti and I haven't lost yet!"

Swinging his arm around Ma-ti's shoulders, Wheeler never lost the grin that was upon his features "We've still got a chance, haven't we little buddy?" Ma-ti smiled and nodded "I agree my friend, but it looks like we may have to hold off on the game for a while, Gaia is here!" Sure enough a see through image of Gaia had appeared just above the ocean. Tilting his head to the side Wheeler greeted her "Yo, what's up Gaia?" The beautiful spirit of the earth responded "Sorry to disturb your fun Planeteers, but we've got an eco emergency, to the crystal chamber everyone, and hurry!" The moment Gaia's image had vanished; the Planeteers exchanged looks before hurrying up the bank of the beach and towards the Crystal chamber.

As they all gathered around Gaia and the crystal screen that allowed them to see what trouble was brewing, Wheeler questioned "So what's the eco emergency Gaia, Sly sludge, Greedily, Dr Blight?" Shaking her head, Gaia turned her attention to the screen and an image of a town in Washington appeared was ablaze with bright orange flames, as people rushed to get their families to safety, their cries for help ringing in the ears of the Planeteers. "I'm afraid its none of those Wheeler, this small town known as Greenton has fallen under the attack of a mysterious blaze, I want you all to head to Washington where this town rests and see if you can help out."

While she examined the chaos upon the screen; Linka sighed "Bozhe Moi, those poor people!" Nodding Gi responded "We better hurry Planeteers, don't worry Gaia we'll get to the bottom of this in no time." Kwame led the way out of the Crystal Chamber and into the clearing where the Geo-cruiser rested, they all climbed inside and took their seats; Wheeler jumping into the pilot seat and commenting to the others "I get the feeling we'll be defiantly calling our blue pal in for this eco disaster."

Staring the Geo-cruiser up, and lifting it swiftly into there air, Wheeler set a course for Washington "Alright Planeteers, let's hit the road, Greenton here we come!" Sitting in the seat behind Wheeler Ma-ti spoke out thoughtfully "I wonder what could possibly be causing such a strong blaze to begin with, maybe a gas leak or something?" Shaking her head Linka replied "I'm not so sure about that Ma-ti; Gaia said she had no idea herself." Nodding Gi agreed "Exactly, I think the only way we're going to find out is to go take a look for ourselves."

Only taking over an hour to reach their destination, the group of five friends peered out their windows and were saddened that the entire town of Greenton was plunged into thick, dark smoke. Wheeler's blue eyes sought for a place to land, it was difficult to see through the choking debris of the smoke; Squinting his eyes, Wheeler then complained "Aw man, there is no way I'm going to be able to find a place to land through all this thick smoke, and we can't be hovering up here wasting time, when these people need our help!"

Heeding Wheeler's words, Linka was suddenly struck with an idea "Here let me help, this might help clear things up" Turning she pointed her ring hand towards the front of the Geo-cruiser and called "Wind!" A light bluish energy burst from the centre of her ring, with the sounds of rushing wind making its way through the air, the laser of light went straight through the solar panels of glass that occupied the windows of the Geo-cruiser. Spreading out into big waves of sweeping wind, the power cut through the smoke like a knife on butter, giving Wheeler a clear view on where to land.

Grinning from ear to ear as he turned the controls swiftly to the right to guide the Geo-cruiser down to a green spot that had not yet been attacked by the blaze, Wheeler couldn't help but compliment Linka "Nice idea Linka like always, thanks babe!" Shaking her head, Linka responded "Nyet Wheeler, this is no time for flirtatious compliments!" Once they were safely on the ground, the Planeteers swiftly climbed out of the Geo-cruiser and looked around, in all directions people and pets were running in all over the place out of sheer panic, as others desperately tried to gather belongings from their a blaze houses.

Rubbing the back of his head and looking shocked of just how bad things were, Wheeler said "Man this is worse to look at from the ground!" Kwame had moved forwards 'Come on my friends, we must help and quickly!" Charging forwards the five of them split up and headed in separate directions; Wheeler and Linka had headed straight for a house that had a dog standing just outside the front door, barking frantically. Cries from inside reached both Wheeler and Linka's ears, but before they could react a man had come running over from out of no where, his face having sheer panic plastered across it crying "Max! Where is Joey!" The dog responded to the man with a whine and a bark, signalling that his son was trapped inside.

Panicking to no end, reacting on natural instinct the man charged forwards shouting "JOEY!" Lunging forwards Wheeler grabbed the man by his arm 'Wait, you can't just go charging in there, it's too dangerous!" Trying to pull away from Wheeler's grip, he shouted "BUT MY SON IS TRAPPED INSIDE!" Linka had stepped forwards "Please do not worry, we'll get your son out!" Pointing her ring towards the closed front door which had smoke pouring out from every direction she shouted "WIND!" The front door was blown right off its hinges, now free flames from inside had burst into the open in a slight explosion "Watch out!" Wheeler had shouted as he pulled the man and Linka back out of the flames path.

The cries from the little boy Joey were now more clear, Wheeler turned to both Linka and the boys Father "Wait here, both of you; I'll go save the boy!" Without hesitating, the red-headed Planeteer had charged forwards, ignoring Linka's cries "Wheeler wait!" Once inside, Wheeler started to look around frantically for the boy, the smell of the smoke caused him to cough as he reached into his pocket and brought a cloth quickly to cover his mouth and nose, calling "Joey!, Joey! Where are you!" A loud creaking and cracking sound coming from the ceiling caught Wheeler's attention and not a moment too soon as flame eaten wood broke away from their sanctuary and came tumbling down; Eyes going wide, Wheeler reacted quickly and jumped out of the way just as the debris of wood smashed down onto the ground causing the fire to spread where it hadn't reached yet.

Quickly looking at the spot where he had just been standing only seconds before, Wheeler knew that he had to hurry, his mind working over time _'I've gotta hurry, I don't know how long this place will keep standing!'_ Just then cries from the young boy came echoing down from upstairs over the loud crackling and blazing sounds of the flames "Daddy! Daddy help me!" Narrowing his stinging blue eyes, Wheeler made his way forward, quickly but carefully shouting "Hold on, I'm coming!" Charging up the stairs which were not too far away from being eaten away by the fire, Wheeler came to a halt in front of a closed bedroom door, raising his foot he shouted "I'm coming in, hold on!"  
Kicking the door as hard as he could so it flew open, Wheeler came face to face with a dark-haired boy, no older than 10 hiding under his bed; Seeing Wheeler the boy known as Joey cried, too afraid to come out from under his bed. Stepping forwards, Wheeler knelt down, trying to keep his voice on a gentle and reassuring level "Hey, you must be Joey, I'm Wheeler a Planeteer, come on I'm here to get you outta here!" Calming down a little, Joey moved forwards and allowed Wheeler to pick him up; Keeping the young boy close, Wheeler made his way swiftly out of the room "Here put this over your mouth Joey" He handed him the cloth he had used to shield his mouth and nose from the choking smoke before.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Wheeler's heart sank right down as a large amount of the ceiling down near the front door came crashing down, blocking their way back out. It was impossible to go out the back door since the kitchen was completely obscured by flames, panicking slightly Wheeler said "Oh man…we're trapped!" Knowing that there was only one way out of this, Wheeler raised his hand and rested it on the side of his head, closing his eyes he tried to get into contact with Ma-ti through his thoughts _'Ma--ti, hey little buddy can you hear me? We need to call Captain Planet!' _Reaching his ears like an echoing presence, Ma-ti had stopped in his tracks and rested his hand on the side of his head, his ring emitting golden waves into the atmosphere. At that precise moment Linka and the boys Father had come running over to Ma-ti and the others, Linka looked panicked "What is it Ma-ti, is it Wheeler!" Lowering his hand Ma-ti responded "Yes he is trapped inside the house you were both at; he wants us to call Captain Planet!"

Nodding, Kwame wasted no more time "Then let our powers combine!" He pointed his ring hand skywards, in the direction of the house that Wheeler and Joey were trapped in and shouted "Earth!" A laser of green light burst from the centre of the ring and shot skywards into there, waiting to meet with the other powers. Back inside the house, Wheeler was forced backwards as the stairs began to collapse; heart racing Wheeler kept Joey close as he looked upwards and to his relief he saw Kwame's ring power, raising his hand quickly Wheeler grinned "Ok Joey, we're getting outta here Fire!" The bright reddish, orange of his own ring power shot upwards and joined Kwame's in the sky; Seeing this and knowing for sure that Wheeler was alright still, a wave of relief washed over Linka as she pointed her hand skywards "Wind!" Gi and Ma-ti's voices followed "Water!" "Heart!" As soon as all five powers combined as one, there was a series of bright colourful flashes as a figure appeared calling "By your power's combined, I am Captain Planet!"

"Go Planet!" Each Planeteer called at the same time, surveying the disaster, Captain Planet flew swiftly towards the collapsing house that Wheeler and Joey were trapped in "Hm, talk about a heat wave, looks like I'm going to have cool this town right down!" Flying through the flames and the hole that had been left by part of the collapsing ceiling, Captain Planet scooped Wheeler up into his grasp and flew him and Joey safely out of the burning house, and not a moment too soon as the entire place collapsed all at once. As they were landed safely back onto the ground, Joey was taken into the arms of his Father "Joey, oh Joey, my son your alright!" Linka and the other Planeteers had moved forwards quickly, cheering for Wheeler who soon found himself in Linka's arms "Oh Wheeler, I was so worried!" Although slightly singed, Wheeler returned the hug with a grin "All in a days work babe!"

Hovering just above, Captain Planet smiled down at them all "You've all done great here Planeteers, now just leave the rest to me!" With that he turned and flew upwards into the smoke filled sky "Looks like this place could use with some good rain, and I know just how to fix that!" There were only a few clouds within the sky, Captain Planet started to gather them at super speed, soon dark clouds gathered, filling the entire sky and all at once a huge down pour started; Instantly the flames were washed down, until all that was left was swirling and rising bits of smoke from the things that had been burnt.

The town of Greenton was soon filled with loud cheers and happy cries from all its citizens, including the Planeteers; as they gazed up into the sky, the rain left just as quickly as it had arrived, causing a rainbow to arch its way over; Coming back down to hover just above the Planeteers, Captain Planet grinned "Well the fire is all out Planeteers, so I guess I'll be on my way, remember the power is yours!" Captain Planet vanished into a flash of light at each ring power was returned back to their rightful owners.

Joey who was still safely in his Father's arms, while their dog Max barked happily at the side, turned his attention to Wheeler who had just lowered his ring hand from collecting his fire power back "Um Wheeler…thanks for saving me!" Grinning and giving the ten-year-old the thumbs up, Wheeler winked "No problem Joey, that's what us Planeteers are here for!" The Father or Joey had held out his hand to Wheeler, who took it and they shook hands "Thank you so very much for saving my son Wheeler, you and your friends are amazing!" Ma-ti smiled "Don't mention it, the five us all work together so it really does make things a lot easier when you're a team!"

Linka had taken it upon herself to use a cloth to clean soot off Wheeler's face "Da I am just glad that you both got out of there safely, but Bozhe moi Wheeler, don't you ever do that again!" Flashing the Russian blond a half smile, Wheeler replied "Aww gee, I never realised you cared so much babe" Feeling her cheeks become slightly coated in a warm blush, Linka made a tutting sort of noise and looked away "Well somebody has got to worry about you Yankee, especially when you pull a reckless act like that!"

Shaking her head with a smile, at her two friends always teasing each other; Gi jumped in "Well seeing as we're here, let's help clean up this mess Planeteers; that fire really did a lot of damage…and I still can't figure out how it was caused either." Over hearing the conversation a rather large man who looked rather displeased had made his way over and forced his way into the conversation with an angry sort of tone "I'll tell ya who caused it, there was this little stranger kid here just before the fire broke out, and he had two rings the same as your two friends over there, that he used to cause the fire!" The large man had pointed a fat finger in the direction of Wheeler and Linka, who both looked confused "That's right you kids, he has the power of both Fire and Wind, so how do we know that these Planeteers aren't part of what that kid did!" The large man accused, his moustache flaring as he spoke.

The Father of Joey had stepped forwards "Easy my friend, please don't go accusing these kids of wrong, they came all this way and helped us out after all." Annoyed Wheeler narrowed his sky blue eyes at the man that was accusing them "Hey man, there is no way we'd come all this way just to cause a stupid fire on your town, and how is it even possible for some little kid to have duplicates of mine and Linka's rings, its impossible!" Lowering his hand, the large man just snorted and turned and walked off mumbling heatedly to himself. Shaking his head and watching him go, Wheeler asked "What the heck was with that guy, and I think he breathed in too much smoke, there is no way someone else can have any of our rings…" Linka, Gi, Kwame and Ma-ti all exchanged looks, Wheeler looked at them all "…can't they?" Crossing his arms in thought, Kwame responded "Well you wouldn't think so, but I wouldn't say its impossible either…"

Gi nodded "I agree with Kwame, the chances of it are quite unlikely, but I wouldn't put it down all together, remember duplicates were made from our rings once before, by Dr Blight to summon Captain Pollution." Linka rested her index finger thoughtfully "Hm maybe we should take look around town after we've helped clean this mess up, ask some more people if they have seen anything strange; But how on earth would mine and Wheeler's rings have duplicates, without ours having been stolen?" Ma-ti shook his head "I have no idea, its possible that these are just rumours, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask around, maybe that man was telling the truth yet."

The Planeteers had all agreed to split up later on and go take a look around town, to see if that strange man had in fact been telling the truth; Grinning Wheeler punched his fist against his palm "Alright Planeteers, let's get cleaning, we'll have Greenton looking less Smokey in no time!" The others all murmured in agreement, and then went off to help the town's folk. __


	2. Chapter Two: The Boy With Fire and Wind

It had taken most of the day for the Planeteers to help clean up the chaos that the mysterious blaze had left in its wake; by the time they were finished, the sun had already started to set on yet another long and tiring day. They all met back up again near the Geo-cruiser, wiping his brow, Wheeler was the first to talk about the work he had been given "Wow, I never knew tracking down lost pets would be so hard!"

Appearing to be out breath; Ma-ti managed a laugh "I agree with you my friend, but we can't go resting up just yet, we need to see if we can find out more about this child that apparently has been running around with rings like yours and Linka's." Wheeler was still not convinced that such a bogus rumour could possibly be true "Swell…but I still say we'll be wasting our time with this thing." Linka stood along side Wheeler, raising her eye brow she gave him a nudge "Oh come on Wheeler, don't tell me you're all worn out from just rounding up some lost pets!" Raising an eye brow in return Wheeler responded "I'm not tired at all; I've still got plenty of energy to burn!"

Kwame shook his head "I know it is very bizarre for such a thing to happen, and maybe that man wasn't in his right-mind, but still I think we should at least take a look around and ask some more of the town's folk on whether anything strange happened just before the fire started." Gi nodded "Kwame is right, you never know maybe something is going on, so let's go ask around and see if we can uncover any information." Knowing he wasn't going to win the others over in this one, Wheeler rubbed the back of his head 'Alright, alright I guess it wouldn't hurt to go check things out."

Deciding the best way to sought out information would be to split up, Kwame was the first to bring the plan into action "Alright my friends, Ma-ti, Gi and I will see if we can track down that man from earlier, Linka and Wheeler you two should go and take a look around the town, if you see anyone out and about still, be sure to ask them about these rumours." Happy that Linka would be joining him in the search for more information; Wheeler moved his arm to rest up around her waist and pulled her somewhat closer "Well Linka babe, looks like it'll be just you and me for a while." Stepping back and out of Wheeler's hold, Linka looked slightly annoyed by her fire friend's flirtatious approach "Nyet Wheeler, this is no time for games, you need to take this mission a little more seriously, even if it'll lead us to no where." With that said, Linka focused her light green eyes on what remained of this small town, the sight of so many people left more than likely homeless saddened her.

A lot of the town folk would either have to leave their beloved town or go and stay at a near by shelter, that existed in Greenton; It was one of the few buildings that had not been touched by the fierce flames that not too long ago had claimed most of the buildings and houses. As they made their way through the streets, the strong scent of smoke was still lingering in the air; Linka couldn't help but shed a few tears at the sight "Oh Wheeler, the fire has ruined everything here, so many people and animals have been left homeless…" As he walked alongside her, Wheeler noticed Linka's sadness right away and immediately comforted her; Stopping her in her tracks by resting his hand upon her shoulder, Wheeler gave her a reassuring smile "Hey, its not as bad as it looks Linka, what matters is that these people and their families are all still alive, they'll find somewhere to go, I'm sure of it."

Although his flirting tended to get on her nerves sometimes; Linka couldn't help but feel better from Wheeler's kind words, gazing at him for a moment she then smiled and nodded "Da, Wheeler…you are right, that is what really matters." The two of them as rare as it was, became lost in the still of the moment. She never did admit it, but Linka always found herself drawn into the sky blue depths of Wheeler's eyes, but their moment was short lived when an angry voice came from a near by alley way "So there you are, you rotten little brat, I should've known you'd be hiding away somewhere after what you did!"

Narrowing his eyes, Wheeler was sure he had heard that voice from earlier "Linka, that voice it sounds like that fat guy that threatened us earlier on!" Knowing he was right, Linka made her way forwards "Da, you are right Wheeler, and it sounds like he may have found who caused all this, let's go see!" The two Planeteers made their way hurriedly towards the source of the problem, upon their arrival they were shocked to see that the same man from earlier had cornered a little boy, whose face was shielded by a greenish blue cap; But it was obvious from the trembling of his small frame that he was absolutely terrified by the man that was towering over him.

One fist clenched tightly shut, with his other hand pointing a fat finger at the child the pig of a man hadn't stopped there with the threatening "Where do you think you get off, catching our town a blaze like that, have you got something against Greenton brat!" When the boy didn't answer, this only angered the raging man further and he descended upon the child, his large chubby hand outstretched as he grasped the boy by the collar of his white T-shirt "That's it, you asked for it kid!" Before the fury of the man could be taken a step further, Wheeler had lunged forwards and used all his strength to force the attacker away from the little boy; His sky blue eyes narrowed and he looked absolutely furious that a grown man would gang up a kid like that "Hey, back off chubby, where do you think, you come off threatening a little kid like that!" Noticing the man now had a name tag on and printed in black bold letters was the name "Sam", he had obviously worked at a local store somewhere.

Stepping back, Sam narrowed his beady brown eyes, his moustache flaring as he spat at Wheeler "Not one of you Planeteer brats again, haven't you done enough in Greenton already, why don't you take your sorry little eco fighting powers and get out of here!" Standing his ground, Wheeler pointed his ring threateningly at the large man "Why don't you try and make me!" Not wanting a fight to break out; Linka had stepped in "Enough both of you, there has been enough violence and trouble here already, don't cause anymore!" Gritting his teeth, Wheeler then let out a sigh and lowered his ring arm "Yeah, your right Linka but that still doesn't make it alright for this guy to pick on a little kid!"

Knowing he wouldn't stand a chance against two teens with elemental powers hidden within their rings; Sam finally backed off but still was quite furious "I suggest you take that brat and get out of my town before things get really nasty!" Having the sudden urge to burn that creeps fat backside from behind, Wheeler had taken a step forwards as the angry man turned to leave, but Linka's warm and gentle grasp upon his arm caused him to stop "Wheeler…don't…" Staring into her beautiful green eyes, Wheeler blinked and then nodded "Yeah…alright."

A gentle sob coming from behind, caused both Wheeler and Linka to focus their attention on the little boy who had his head lowered and was clinging tightly to the front of his T-shirt, his small figure still trembling as he desperately tried to keep himself from crying. Feeling a natural Motherly instinct kick in, Linka knelt down to become level with the child's face, her voice gentle and sweet "Aw, there, there little one, you're safe now." Rubbing the back of his head, Wheeler also knelt down "Hey there little buddy, you're not hurt or anything are you?"

Tilting his head down and to the side, trying to get a look at the boy's face; Wheeler's blue eyes suddenly fell to the sound of something jingling around the boy's neck; and sure enough as plain as day was two very familiar rings hanging from a thin silver chain; Wheeler immediately recognised the fiery symbol of his own ring, Linka too had also caught sight of the rings, her green eyes going wide "Bozhe moi, Wheeler those are our rings!" The reaction seemed to act as a trigger, gasping and taking a couple of steps backwards, keeping his head lowered, the little boy then turned and took off out of the alley way. Getting quickly to his feet Wheeler shouted after him "H-hey wait a second, don't go!" Linka shot to her feet, her mouth hanging open just slightly "Wheeler, we can't let him get away, we have to follow him!"

Realising that Sam was obviously telling the truth about duplicates of their own rings, both Wheeler and Linka followed quickly in the direction the mysterious boy had taken; Already quite far a head of them, Wheeler was in awe at just how fast that kids little legs could carry him "Man this kid is quick, Linka head on around the other side of that building, I'll take this way, we'll be able to catch him in between us if we hurry!" Linka nodded and took a sharp turn around a near by building that stretched all the way in the direction the boy had taken; Wheeler picked up speed, his feet pounding hard against the ash-covered ground from the fire earlier on.

Peering over his shoulder, the young boy let out a gasp when he realised that Wheeler was steadily gaining on him; Slipping slightly on the ashes that littered the ground, the boy took a sharp turn around a near by building as a last resort to escape. Linka at that precise moment, appeared around from the side of the building, her hands held out at her sides as she spoke "Please stop running away from us!" Heart racing, the small child let another gasp escape, his eyes hidden beneath the rim of his cap had gone wide; He turned to go back, but it appeared his luck was short-lived since Wheeler had caught up and was waiting at the other end opposite from Linka. His sky blue eyes were slightly narrowed in annoyance and he appeared to be slightly out of breath "Stop, just hold on for a minute kid!"

Looking helplessly from Wheeler to Linka and then back again; the small boy had no where else to go, the weight of being shoved into trouble for causing the fire, being threatened by Sam and now being chased by Wheeler and Linka finally proved to be too much for him to take. Feeling the corners of his eyes sting, the young boy crouched down and finally gave into the tears that had threatened to fall for a while now; bursting into uncontrollable sobs and revealing what Wheeler and Linka had been wondering about "P-please don't hurt me, I'm sorry I didn't mean to cause the fire…Nootau…I-I can't control his powers, I'm sorry!" Hearing all this in one big and desperate sentence from such a small person, left both Linka and Wheeler in a state of confusion, as well as leading them both to feeling ashamed for cornering a child like that.

Lifting his hands, while still crouching there, the boy tried to wipe the tears away that were streaming down his cheeks; His voice broke as he spoke more so to himself than the others "Mummy….Daddy, please forgive me!" Lowering her raised hands to her sides, Linka blinked her green eyes a few times and was suddenly overcome by a strong instinct to take the crying child into her arms; her eyes fell to the boys left arm and she spotted a small burn just above his elbow. Eyes going wide she stepped forwards silently, kneeling down she carefully took the child's small arm into her hand, causing him to tense up a little; He raised his head just a little, making sure his face still remained hidden, his voice had a scared sort of note to it, managing to say "What are you…" He stopped in his sentence, noticing Linka had reached into the pocket of her brown shorts, pulling out a fresh bandage; they were something she always carried just in case.

Wheeler hadn't moved from where he was standing, he had raised his hand to rub at the back of his head, confused on not only what the boy had blabbed out, but because he too was feeling slightly strange towards the child; Finally he stepped forwards as Linka began to bandage the young child's arm with care "Hey bud, we didn't mean to scare ya like that…" Came Wheeler's voice, Linka nodded, finally speaking "Da, yes we are sorry, are you alright?" Her voice was gentle and tender, she finished bandaging his arm up, a frown across her features "That is quite a bad burn, how did you manage to get it?" Keeping his head down, still sobbing the mysterious little boy wiped at his cheek before answering, rather fearfully "Nootau did it…I can't control his powers…"

Exchanging confused looks with Linka; Wheeler had knelt down, holding his hand out questioningly "Noo….what?" he arched an eye brow in utter confusion "By the way…what's your name kid?" Sniffling some, the boy hesitated; Linka smiled sweetly, moving her head down in hopes of getting a look at the child's face "Aww come on now, don't be so shy, you can tell us, I promise!" Biting his bottom lip and raising both his hands to pull his cap down further to hide his face, he then quietly replied "T-Toby, my name is Toby." Hearing this, Linka couldn't help but smile "That's a very sweet name, I really like it, my name is Linka and he is Wheeler."

Now very curious to see this kids face, Wheeler asked "Hey, why do you keep hiding your face, got something you don't want us to see?" Linka suddenly elbowed her American companion in the side, flashing him an annoying look "Nyet Wheeler, don't be so rude!" "Ow!" Rubbing at his side, the red-headed Planeteer raised an eye brow "Aww come on babe, I'm just curious to see what he looks like!" Sighing with impatience, Linka shook her head; truth be told though, she was just as curious, but she threw a comment back at Wheeler "Bozhe moi, why do you have to be so nosey!" The slight bickering between the two Planeteers, though unknown to them caused Toby to break out into a small smile, and a little giggle erupted from his throat.

Hearing a change in the little guys mood; Both Wheeler and Linka broke out from their bickering and looked at Toby, almost as if the arguing was forgotten; Linka then smiled "Do not mind Wheeler Toby, hey…we better get you back home, your parents must surely be worried sick!" Hearing this caused Toby's smile to drop from his features, he nervously bit his bottom lip "Um…I'm not really from around here…" Hearing this Linka suddenly frowned, concerned "What, surely you must…" A shake of Toby's head caused her heart to sink "Bozhe moi…oh Toby." Feeling sorry for the kid, Wheeler suddenly got back to his feet "Well, there is only thing we can do then babe, let's take him with us." Shocked, Linka blinked many times "What! Take him with us, you mean on the Geo-cruiser, Nyet Wheeler we cannot do that!"

Looking from Linka to Toby Wheeler smiled "Hey little bud, can you give Linka and I a moment to talk?" Toby nodded and watched from under the rim of his cap, as Wheeler pulled Linka to the side and faced her "Come on Linka, what else are we supposed to do? The kid obviously doesn't have any parents, nor anywhere else to go, and there is no way we can leave him here, that Sam dude might try something!" Staring at him, Linka blinked and looked from her American companion and over at Toby; truthfully she didn't like the idea about leaving a child where he could be in danger, and there was something about him, something that gave Linka the desire to keep him safe. Turning her attention back to Wheeler, the Russian blond gave in "Da, alright then Wheeler, but the others may not like this…"

Flashing her one of his reassuring grins; Wheeler winked at Linka "Hey don't you worry about that babe; it won't take much to convince the others, trust me on that!" Still unsure on how the others would react, when she and Wheeler returned with a little boy, no older than probably six-years-old, with duplicates of their rings; one thing she did know though was that a lot of questions were going to be thrown at them. Deciding not to worry about that until they found the others, Linka turned around to face Toby with a welcoming sort of smile "Toby, would you like to come with Wheeler and I?" With his hands clutching at the front of his white t-shirt, Toby raised his head just enough for them to see his shy little smile "Um sure, I don't really want to stay here…that man from before was scary!"

Wheeler grinned "Well, ya won't have to worry about that fatso as long as you come with use Toby!" Linka suddenly felt the urge to elbow Wheeler again, for using such a rude word against Sam, but she held off and instead flashed him a warning sort of gaze. "Alright then Toby, come along with us." Linka held out her hand to the small boy, who slowly stood up from his crouching position and made his way forwards; biting his bottom lip and chewing on, Toby reached out his small hand to Linka; on the precise moment of contact, Linka suddenly felt a rush of a familiar feeling. Receiving such a feeling out of no where, the Russian blond couldn't help but gasp; causing Wheeler to raise a questioning eye brow "Hey…Linka, are you alright babe, your face has turned a little pale." The questioning look from the red-head turned to that of a concerned frown as Linka looked at him, she blinked and shook her head smiling "Oh, I am fine Wheeler….come along Toby, we need to go track down the other Planeteers."

Nodding slowly, with one hand raised and pulling at the rim of his cap; Toby followed Linka and Wheeler out from the side of the building and along the ash-covered walkway; As she held onto the boys hand, Linka silently glanced down at the small child that was too shy to even show his face, her mind wondering many things _'What is this strange feeling, Bozhe moi…I feel as if I know this child from somewhere, like I've met him before, but how is that possible, this is my first time ever meeting him.' _Shaking her head, slightly frustrated by her thoughts, Linka turned her gaze to Wheeler and questioned, trying to forget the nagging feeling "Where do you think Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti could be?" Hands stuffed into his pockets, Wheeler tilted his head and looked around "Hm, I haven't a clue babe, maybe we should go try the shelter, I doubt they'd be anywhere else."

Agreeing, Linka nodded "Good point Wheeler, we'll go check at the shelter" She peered down at Toby, when she felt his small hand grip rather tightly to hers, she then smiled, realising the problem "Oh, do not worry Toby, we're not going to leave you at the shelter, I promise." Relaxing at the words that comforted him so much more than what Linka could ever really know, Toby nodded "O-okay then, that's good!" Wheeler grinned down at their new friend "Don't sweat it bud, we'll get ya on the Geo-cruiser even if it takes all night to convince the other Planeteers that we can't leave you here in Greenton!" With that said, Wheeler then focused his sky blue eyes upon the large building, many people who had lost their homes were gathered around, most only with the clothes on their backs. The crowd was rather large, so it would probably take a while for Wheeler and Linka to spot their friends; still they made their way over and carefully made their way through the crowds of people. 


	3. Chapter Three: Face Revealed

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Finally making it through the crowds of people, Wheeler, Linka and Toby made it inside the shelter, of course it was just as crowded inside as it was out; Greenton was only a small town, but well over nine hundred and fifty people lived there, possibly even more but some had possibly moved on to go and live with families else where.

Following closely alongside Linka; Toby had raised his head, allowing his bright, but nervous green eyes scan the shelter; there were plenty of other children here as well, some safely with their parents, while others were crying unable to find their folks at all. Biting his bottom lip, Toby took a chance to glance up at Linka, she hadn't noticed, since her and Wheeler were too busy searching for the others.

With an arched eye brow; Wheeler couldn't help but comment "Man, I never realised how many people actually lived in this town, it's just crazy!" With a nod of her head, Linka agreed "Da, a lot of these small towns are over crowded, when disasters like this happen, it is very difficult for most people to find anywhere to stay, when they've lost their homes." Wheeler rubbed the back of his head "Well the way people are popping out kids these days, its not a wonder so many towns get over crowded, seriously everyone needs to lay off the baby-making for a while!" The red-head had said the last part quite loudly, causing a few people to look at him, amused and confused; Linka was everything but amused, she raised her foot and stomped it down on top of Wheeler's, causing him to yelp "OW Linka!" Glaring at him, the Russian blond hissed "Bozhe moi Wheeler, do not say things like that!"

Toby was still grasping onto Linka's hand, he blinked several times beneath his cap, he opened his mouth to ask a question, but stopped in his tracks when Linka gazed down at the shy little boy and smiled sweetly "Toby, why don't you go and play with the other children, just over there." She motioned her head to the right; standing off to the side was a group on children, round about Toby's age, all talking and whispering to one another. Blinking a few times; Toby looked hesitant, seeing the hesitation Linka responded "Wheeler and I are not going anywhere, we'll be just over there I promise Toby." Feeling more comfortable, after hearing her words, Toby smiled sweetly and nodded "Okay then…" Letting go of Linka's hand, he turned and made his way over to the group of other children, who happily allowed him to join in on their conversation.

For a long moment, Linka watched Toby, her bright green eyes wondering, although she was brought out of her thoughts when she heard Kwame's voice "There you two are, Gi, Ma-ti and I were beginning to worry, something may have happened." Linka smiled as her African friend approached her and Wheeler, followed closely by Gi and Ma-ti. "So were you able to find out anything at all around town?" Kwame questioned; Wheeler and Linka looked at one another, then Wheeler responded "Well…about that Kwame…" Gi shook her head and smiled "Nothing but rumours right?" Linka was the next to answer "Actually everyone, we did in fact find something…"

The group of children that Toby had joined, had now been approached by a much older boy along with some of his own friends; they all looked to be trouble makers, and bullies for that matter; Smirking and revealing a chipped front tooth, the obvious leader of the group of bullies started sneering around at the younger children; None of the parents of the children seemed to be around at the moment, so it was the perfect moment to stir up some trouble. The bully leader, whom had dark brown hair and blue eyes questioned "What's this, all you babies huddled together, cause you can't find your Mummy's?" Most of the younger ones gasped and backed off; from the bully who was known as "Chip" he was the biggest bully that was in school, so most of the children in Greenton feared him, and knew to stay out of his way.

When none of the other children answered; Eleven year old Chip snorted "So scared that none of ya can even speak, wadda ya say boys, shall we give these twerps a right scare, so they wet their pants!" Chip balled up on fist and punched it against the palm of his other, in an intimidating sort of manner; such a gesture acted as a trigger, all the other children had scattered in different directions to go find their parents; Watching them go, Chip just grinned "Ha, ha! What a bunch of scaredy cats!" He laughed along with his group of friends, but stopped when he noticed that Toby was still there, head down and clutching at the front of his shirt; Seeing his chance, Chip put on a devious smirk and stalked his way over to Toby "Well, well what do we have here, still one left, he baby where's your Mummy, or are ya lost?" Sniggering Chip and his friends, faked sobbing sounds "Aww boo, cry, cry, that's all you babies are good for!"

Biting his bottom lip; Toby responded "Umm…I don't want any trouble…" Chip just sneered and moved forwards, causing six year old Toby to back up, until he felt his back touch up against the hard wall of the shelter, hearing this Chip looked somewhat insulted "What was that baby, are you telling me to get lost?" His piercing blue eyes narrowed at the smaller boy, raising his hand he cracked his knuckles "Looks like you could use with a lesson on who is boss around here, baby!" Chip had reached forwards to grab at the front of Toby's t-shirt, but stopped when he spotted two things glinting as they hung around Toby's neck.

Blinking, Chip then smirked "Hey cool rings baby, let me see them." The eleven year old had demanded; Frowning beneath his cap, Toby quickly raised a small hand and gripped at the two precious elemental rings around his neck, his voice soft and barely audible as he spoke "N-no…" Narrowing his eyes, Chip demanded "What did you just say!" Gripping the rings tighter and narrowing his bright green eyes, Toby then raised his head, revealing his face to Chip "I said no!" A loud set of gasps had come from Chip's friends, Chip on the other hand just stared down into Toby's eyes, clenching his fist tightly and growing quite angry that he wasn't going to get his own way, Chip raised his balled hand, shouting "You brat, I'll show you!" Before he could react, or get out of the way, Toby felt the older boy's fist connect with his cheek, the force sending him sideways onto the hard floor of the shelter, his cap had gone flying off from the hit and landed a foot or two away.

The pain on the side of Toby's face was enough to bring any young child to tears, but he held off from crying and pushed himself clumsily back to his feet; such an action left Chip looking quite shocked; forgetting all about keeping his appearance hidden, Toby turned to face Chip, just in time as well since the bully had grabbed a hold of the front of his T-shirt "Give me those rings now you little brat!" Toby closed his eyes tightly, trying to struggle out of Chip's grip, who was gritting his teeth as he reached over his free hand and grabbed a hold of the fire ring, but on contact the centre of the ring started glowing a bright orange, red, burning Chip's hand, which caused him to yelp in pain and recoil backwards, letting go of Toby who fell flat on his back on the shelter floor.

Staring at a small burn that the elemental power from the ring has left; Chip clenched his other fist and charged forwards, jumping to pin Toby down so he wouldn't be able to get back up; Raising his fist Chip threatened "Now you've really made me mad!" The commotion had finally caught a lot of attention from other people; Wheeler and Linka, who had been explaining to the others on how they found Toby, took notice of the crowds that were gathering together over on the far side of the shelter; Sensing trouble the five friends quickly made their way over, pushing swiftly through the crowd of people. Linka was the first to reach the front, and her green eyes went wide at the sight of a boy much older and bigger than Toby, was about to hurt him.

It was in that moment Linka felt a strange feeling come over her, one she had never felt before, a mixture of pure anger and the desire to protect at all costs, made her move swiftly forwards; Narrowing her deep green eyes, she raised her ring hand and pointed it directly at Chip and shouted "Wind!" A mini tornado formed just on the floor near Linka's feet, it spun swiftly around, like an out of control spinning top; gathering speed it twisted its way towards Chip, who looked up, his eyes going wide "What the!" was all he could get out as the tornado split down the middle and surrounded him, before closing tightly shut, like a clam around the bully's torso, lifting him roughly up it then spun him around a few times "Ahh, someone help!" the not so tough bully had cried before he was sent flying in the opposite direction; Chip didn't even have a chance to scream a second time as he fell backwards into a pile of boxes and crates, that people had brought with them to the shelter, it held the few belongings that had been saved from the blazing town, earlier on that day.

The people within the shelter had broken out in loud shouts and cries, many looking quite shocked of what had just happened; Chip's friends who looked absolutely terrified of Linka had bolted into the depths of the crowd, while other people made their way over to the boxes and crates, now lying everywhere to see if Chip was alright. Wheeler and the rest of Planeteers' mouths were hanging open, on the rather vicious and unexpected attack that their fellow Russian Planeteer had bestowed upon Chip. The mini, but powerful tornado had vanished, lowering her hand Linka quickly made her way over to Toby's side, who was just slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position, his hand over the graze that Chip's fist had left; Seeing Linka quickly approach him to see if he was alright, Toby turned his head to look the other way, realising his face was now in full view, knowing this sent a panicked streak rush through his entire body.

"Toby, Toby are you alright!" Linka's tone was full of concern and panic, Toby managed to nod, keeping his face away from Linka as he tried to reach for his cap, which was a few feet away "I-I'm fine, really…" but trying to put on a brave sort of voice, did not stop the tears from falling, the pain in the side of his face was unbearable. Sensing this, with her brow furrowed Linka rested her hand gently upon Toby's small shoulder; Feeling this, the small boy froze in reaching out his hand to grab his cap. The feel of Linka's warm hand upon his shoulder, comforted Toby a great deal, but more than anything, he just wanted to be in her arms, the place he felt the safest.

Wheeler, Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti had made their way over; Ma-ti then questioned "Is he the child you and Wheeler were telling us about Linka?" Turning to look at her friends, Linka nodded "Da, this is Toby, we must take him with us, I don't think we should…" Linka was unable to finish her sentence, there was movement from the corner of her eye, and the next thing she knew, Toby had thrown himself into her arms, bursting into tears. Eyes slightly wide, Linka didn't hesitate for a second and folded her arms around Toby's trembling figure, closing her eyes she softly spoke "Shh, there, there it is alright, your safe now."

Raising a hand to rub at one of his eyes, Toby tried to sub side the tears that were streaming down his cheeks, his voice breaking as he tried to speak "H-he tried to take the rings!" Still rubbing at his eyes with one hand, Toby gripped at the two rings hanging around his neck with his other; He pulled back slightly from hugging Linka who had raised her hand to the graze on Toby's cheek "Here, let me take a look at that." Forgetting all about his appearance, Toby lowered his hand from his eyes, finally revealing his tear stained face; All at once a gasp of shock erupted from each of the Planeteers, Wheeler's mouth had fallen open, his sky blue eyes almost popping out of his head "Bozhe moi…." Was all that the red-headed Planeteer could squeeze out, raising her hand to cover her mouth in shock, Linka stared at Toby, then looked at Wheeler and back again; The little boy was a spitting image of Wheeler, red hair, the same sort of appearance but only smaller; But what stood out the most in Toby's appearance was his bright green eyes, they were the same shade as what Linka's was.

Blinking a couple of times; Toby looked from Linka, to Wheeler and then the others, confused on why they were all staring at him, like they had all seen a ghost or something. Raising a hand slowly, Toby felt around for his cap, only to come in contact with his bright red hair, bright green eyes going wide he realised that he had lost his hat. Turning quickly to search for it, he spotted it near by and rushed over to pick it up, he stared at it, the realisation that it was too late to cover back up, dawning on him "Uh oh…." Was all Toby could manage to say, biting his lip he turned back to the Planeteers, a worried expression covering his features.

Wheeler, getting over the shock somewhat stepped forwards, still staring at Toby "Whoa…you look just like me, only smaller!" Kwame blinked a few times "This…very strange, are you two related perhaps?" Glancing at his friend, Wheeler shook his head; his eye brow arched "Not as far as I know, we're not but whoa….I can't believe this, talk about a miniature twin!" Linka shook her head; she was just as surprised as what Wheeler was "Maybe it is just a coincidence, that you both look a like." Though she had said that, deep down, Linka knew that wasn't the case; there was indeed something about this little boy, for as strange as it was, even though she couldn't explain it herself; she felt a very strong connection to him.

Twisting his cap in both his small hands, Toby listened to the Planeteers talk; he was growing more nervous at the minute, worried that at this rate they may not take him with them on the Geo-cruiser. All thoughts were interrupted though when the sound of the shelter door slamming open echoed, Chip's voice could be heard "Dad, Dad that kid you said who caused the fire, he's here, he's in the shelter!" Sam was the one that had come barging in through the door, he approached Chip, who was obviously his son and questioned "Where is he!"

Knowing they would be in hot water if they didn't get out of here, Wheeler turned to the others "Ahh guys, I think maybe we should book it!" Linka couldn't help but agree "Da, Wheeler is right, we all better leave before Sam spots us, there has been enough trouble here already, we do not need to cause anymore." Kwame confused on who this 'Sam' questioned "Who are you talking about?" Turning to face Toby who looked afraid, Wheeler moved forwards and scooped up the boy, holding him under one arm 'H-hey!" Toby said in a surprised voice, ignoring this Wheeler began searching for a back door, or something that signalled a way out, so they wouldn't have to risk sneaking past Sam, as big as the crowds were in the shelter, the Planeteers could already here the large man pushing his way through the people to find them.

Spotting a sign above what would defiantly be a door; Linka pointed towards it "There, come on, we must leave before Sam causes a riot among the towns folk!" Linka sure wasn't wrong there, a lot of the people that surrounded them had heard about the rumours of the young boy that apparently had started the blaze in their town to begin with, most of them had already begun eying the group of teens suspiciously. Suddenly Sam came bursting out from the crowds of people and pointed accusingly at them "See, I knew you Planeteers were part of this, your trying to smuggle that kid, the one who caused all this out of our town!"

Hearing these words, the people of Greenton suddenly broke out into outrageous voices; Sam punched his large fist into the air, egging them on "Are you gonna let them get away with what happened to our town?" Everyone else threw their fists up into their air, voices coming from all directions "That brat caused us to lose our town!" "Let's get him!" Knowing that was their cue to get out of there, Wheeler flung Toby over his shoulder, causing him to blink a couple of times "Come on guys, we've gotta get outta here!" When Kwame showed signs of protesting, both Wheeler and Linka yelled at the same time "Not now!" Deciding to leave his questions for later, Kwame followed after Wheeler and Linka, followed closely by Gi and Ma-ti who were just as confused as what their leader was.

The Planeteers ran quickly through the back exit of the shelter; As they burst through the doors and out into the night air, Kwame took this chance to ask "What exactly is going on Wheeler, Linka, neither of you got to the part on whether those rumours were true or not!" As they all ran along the still ash covered ground, Wheeler gave a roll of his sky blue eyes "Do you really have to hear it from Linka and I, aren't the huge mob of angry people chasing us enough to convince you or something!" Kwame thought about this for a second "Well now that you mention it…" Wheeler let out a groan "Can't we talk about this, AFTER we've got out of Greenton in one piece, so less talk and more engine!" Blinking a few times, from his position over Wheeler's shoulder, Toby cried "They're catching up to us, run faster!" Glancing to the side at Toby, Wheeler responded "Hey, it ain't easy to move when you've got a kid hanging over your shoulder, you know!"

Skidding and slipping slightly on the ash covered ground, the Planeteers took a sharp turn in the direction where they had left the Geo-cruiser resting on the only patch of grass that had been untouched by the fire's deadly flames. Knowing they weren't going to get there in time, without being swarmed by hundreds of people, Linka came to a halt and faced the angry mob, she knew they were upset over losing their homes, but still that didn't give them the right to put the blame on a child; Narrowing her eyes dangerously, Linka pointed her ring towards the mob, that was led by Sam "Nyet! There has been enough violence, Wind!" The elemental power went spiralling towards the people, the force of it stopping them in their tracks. Gi had stepped forwards "Let me help, I think these people really need to cool off!" Aiming her ring towards a near by hydrant she commanded "Water!", the ocean blue energy, swirled around the water source, causing the top of the hydrant to pop off, rising the fountain of water, Gi directed it with her ring and allowed it to swamp the raging mob, causing them to cry out and splutter from receiving such a blast of water.

Grinning; Wheeler punched the air with his fist "Alright Linka and Gi, now let's get out butts outta here!" With that the Planeteers all reached the Geo-cruiser, as the side door rose to allow them passage; they all scrambled inside and quickly took their seats; Lifting Toby off his shoulder and passing him over to Linka to take care of for the time being; Wheeler leapt over to the driver's seat, clipping his seat belt in, he then grabbed the controls "Buckle up guys, its high time we high-tailed it outta here!" The Geo-cruiser started up, it hadn't taken long for the mob to recover from their wet and windy experience; Narrowing his beady eyes, looking absolutely furious Sam shouted "DON'T LET THEM GET AWAY!" They all stampeded towards the Geo-cruiser, shouting accusations; pulling at the controls quickly, Wheeler quickly lifted their ride swiftly into the air, and just in time too, as all the people flooded the area, where the Geo-cruiser had only been seconds before.

The environmentally friendly Geo-cruiser paused in mid air for just a second before shooting off swiftly through the still smoky filled night sky; Glancing over his shoulder for just a second, Wheeler called back to the people "Yeah good riddens, phew boy am I glad to be outta that!" Toby who was sitting on Linka's lap, rested his small hands against the glass of the Geo-cruiser window and watched as the crowd of angry people below, grew smaller and smaller, until they were out of full sight. Closing his bright green eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath before letting out a big relieved sigh, turning back around and sitting more comfortably in Linka's lap; Toby focused his bright green eyes upon hers, before leaning up and wrapping his small arms around her neck, cuddling up to her for comfort; Linka embraced the child back, hearing him shakily whisper "That was scary!" Comforting him by hugging him a little more firmly; Linka soothed softly at him "Shh…it's alright Toby, they cannot hurt you now."

Ma-ti, who hadn't really spoken up until now, leaned over the back of Linka's seat and smiled in a friendly sort of way at Toby "Linka is right, you'll be safe with us Toby, I promise!" Pushing a small yellow button on the controls of the Geo-cruiser, Wheeler shifted it to auto-pilot so he could turn to focus his attention upon Toby "That's right little man, there is no way we were going to let those creeps touch ya!" Kwame, who was still all confused about this entire thing, nodded to the small boy "By the way, I don't think we have been properly introduced yet, my name is Kwame" Smiling from the second pilot seat on the left, Gi introduced herself "My name is Gi" Ma-ti raised a hand "And I'm Ma-ti, its very nice to meet you Toby." Suchi who had been a sleep on the Geo-cruiser the entire time all this commotion was going on, had finally awoken and come out of his hiding spot, he leapt up on Ma-ti's shoulder, letting out a screech, startling Toby somewhat. Laughing, Ma-ti reassured 'Do not be afraid, this is Suchi, he's a friend of mine." Cocking his head to the side at the new arrival aboard the Geo-cruiser, Suchi then greeted Toby with a happy screech.

"Well seeing as we do have an hour before we reach Hope Island, do you think maybe one of you could explain what is going on?" Kwame had finally questioned, Ma-ti nodded "I must admit, I am quite curious to hear what it is you and Wheeler have to say Linka." Staring at Toby, Linka responded "To be honest with you all, I really am not too sure myself, but it is true that Toby has two rings the same as Wheeler's and mine." Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti all exchanged looks of awe; Gi then responded "Well, I never would've thought that it would actually be true!" Wheeler looked at her and half smiled "Believe me Gi, Linka and I were just as shocked, hey maybe could get Toby to explain it to us." Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti agreed, but Linka soon cut in "Sorry to disappoint you all, but I think that explanation is going to have to wait…" Hearing these words they all peered over at Linka and Toby, leaning over the back of the seat they were occupying; Ma-ti smiled "I think Linka may be right my friends."

Pointing a finger over the back of the seat at their new friend who had fallen sound a sleep in Linka's arms, his head nestled up under her chin, the side of his face resting up against her chest. Kwame and the others all exchanged looks with one another, "I guess it will have to wait until tomorrow my friends" Kwame had admitted; Wheeler smiled at Toby's sleeping form, then grinned at Linka, before turning his attention back to the front of the Geo-cruiser "Poor little guy, he must be all worn out after what happened; its been a long day after all, and I think its way past his bedtime." Gi nodded "Yes and it is pretty late, I think we'll all be going to bed, once we get back to Hope Island." Ma-ti sat back in his seat and looked thoughtful "Hm, its great and all that Toby is coming with us, but I can't help but wonder what Gaia might say about our extra."

Taking the Geo-cruiser back of auto-pilot, Wheeler turned it to the far right and disappeared up further in the wispy clouds that were scattered throughout the night sky, the smoke had all cleared now that the were all well and truly out of Greenton "Well I wouldn't go worrying too much little buddy, Gaia is the spirit of the earth remember, I'm sure she won't really mind!" Linka who had been silent this entire time, was watching Toby sleep, she had a gentle smile upon her lips as she casually added in, not taking her eyes of the sleeping boy "Da, Wheeler is right, if we explain what happened, Gaia will understand, after all I refuse to even think of returning him to those horrible people back in Greenton!"

Raising an eye brow, hearing such a stern tone in her voice; Wheeler couldn't help but grin and glance over his shoulder at her "Hey babe, sounds to me like your pretty attached to that kid, I guess that's to be expected when he looks like me!" Raising an eye brow, Linka let out a snort and smirked "Nyet, Wheeler you wish!" Shaking her head, recalling what had happened back at the shelter, Gi smiled "No offense of course Linka, but back at the shelter, you went pretty crazy when you saw Toby was in danger…" Wheeler agreed, amused "What Gi said, I don't think I've ever seen you go off like that, like a raging lioness protecting her cubs or something!" he made a lion sort of sound and grinned. Hearing these words, Linka blinked many times, her cheeks flushing as she shook her head "Nyet! I was only doing what I'm sure anyone else would have done, that bully was twice Toby's size!"

Kwame couldn't help but join in on the conversation "Wheeler is correct Linka, we've all seen you get mad, but that look we all saw in your eyes tonight, was nothing we'd ever seen before." Linka looked around at them all, she couldn't believe what they were saying, shaking her head she sighed "Bozhe moi, everyone was it REALLY that bad?" Wheeler, Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti all looked at one another, before Wheeler grinned "Hey, don't sweat it babe, none of us are saying you did the wrong thing, it just surprised us that's all, come on aren't you wondering just a little yourself?" Taking in Wheeler's words, Linka stayed silent as she stared down at Toby, who was missing the entire conversation, which probably was a good thing. Letting out a gentle sigh the Russian blond then admitted, more to herself than any of the others "Da, truthfully I am wondering just as much, I do not know what happened back there…"

The Geo-cruiser moved on swiftly through the night sky, which was coated with twinkling stars; for the most part, the rest of the journey back to Hope Island was a quiet one, everyone seeming lost in their own thoughts, as they went over the encounters they had had that day; Unknown to them since she had not appeared before them; Gaia had been watching them this whole time through her crystal screen, she allowed it to zoom in slowly upon Linka, as well as the sleeping form of six-year-old Toby, looking thoughtful, the beautiful spirit of the earth smiled a knowing smile "Hm, I wonder if maybe I should tell them?" Gaia knew everything about her Planeteers, and each of their futures was one of them, she was also aware that the arrival of Toby would spell one ultimate adventure for them all, but more so for Wheeler and Linka.


	4. Chapter Four: Another EcoEmergency

**A/N:****Well this is chapter four everyone, I'm sorry it took me a little while to get this up. Things are finally beginning to pick up; I promise they'll be even more interesting when chapter five comes around. The chapter pretty much speaks for itself and its here that Toby opens up just a little bit more, so I hope you will all enjoy it; I imagine chapter five will be up in about another week, or possibly even less, depending on what time I have on my hands.  
So please do enjoy and feel free to let me know on what you think!  
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**_The serious whispers that were echoing upstairs were enough to stir the six-year-old from his slumber; blinking his deep green eyes in the darkness of his bedroom, which was lit with a calming, ice blue night light that projected animal patterns on the walls and ceilings. Sitting up, straining his ears to listen to the voices of his parents down stairs, Toby felt his curiosity grow; carefully and quietly he slid out of bed and tip-toed his way to his bedroom door; Reaching up his hand to turn the handle carefully, first he poked his head out to make sure the voices were well and truly coming from downstairs._

_Bluish light from the night light, streamed slowly out into the dark hall way, besides the whispers coming from down stairs, the rest of the house was quite peaceful. Slowly turning his gaze towards the railing of the stairs, Toby made his way silently over to the top of the stairs, a yellowish light from the kitchen was carefully creeping upwards from its sanctuary, creating two shadows from people that were occupying the area._

_Stopping at the railing, Toby carefully crouched down, his small hands gripping slightly at the smooth wood of the rather fancy bars that held the entire railing in place; Deep green eyes focusing towards the kitchen, he stayed silent, trying to hear what was being said, for both voices were full of concern, and they were two voices that Toby knew very well._

_"It doesn't seem to matter what we do, things are getting worse and worse, even Captain Planet was unable to fully stop them this time, by the time those creeps are thrown away, our world is going to be a fiery wasteland!" There was silence for a short moment, between the first voice and the second which was feminine but sounded solemn "Da…I am quite aware of that sweetheart, Blight and the others appear unstoppable this time!"_

_Frowning just a little, Toby blinked he didn't know why but he felt slightly unnerved by what was being discussed; things in the world of late, had not been very well at all, even those who had sworn to protect their precious sanctuary were beginning to wonder if maybe they had well and truly been beat this time._

_Silence had fallen for what seemed like hours, but soon that silence was broken "Babe…maybe its time." The tension in the atmosphere had reached new levels "Nyet…he is too young, we cannot…" Storm clouds had rolled over; the distant but steady sound of thunder was a sign that a very stormy and heart aching night was coming.  
xxx_

Bright green eyes flying open, sitting bolt upright as if startled from his slumber, Toby looked around, finding himself in strange surroundings. He defiantly wasn't on the Geo-cruiser anymore, instead of waking upon Linka's lap where he had fallen a sleep, Toby felt a warm and soft surface beneath him; Looking down at the covers that draped him, he realised that he had been put into a bed, in a neat looking room that had a Russian flag pinned up on the side of the wall, closest to the bed.

With his mind repeating what he had been dreaming about, Toby brought his knees up to his chest, folding his arms across them he rested his chin softly upon them, his green eyes clouded, he looked troubled _'What is it I'm supposed to do?' _it was a question the six-year-old had been asking himself since that fateful and stormy night he had been taken away, and now this is where he was, swept back into the past, to the moment that evil was supposedly beginning to arise. For his age, Toby was smart but he didn't understand fully on what he was supposed to do here in the past, all he knew was it had something to do with the rings of 'Fire' and 'Wind' and the elemental spirits that were said to reside within them.

It was in that precise moment; of Toby thinking of the spirits, that he felt a strange energy radiating from both the rings that hung around his neck, he reached up a small hand and grasped at the silver chain that held them in place; Lowering his eyes to it as he moved the rings so their bright centres faced him; He stared, completely lost at the symbols of Fire and Wind, trying so hard to figure it all out. The atmosphere had suddenly shifted to a slightly eerie one, frowning Toby's eyes had focused entirely on the fire ring, for a moment or two its power flickered, like it was about to erupt with a burst of energy.

Seeing this, Toby leaned back away from the ring, concerned that flames would get him in the face, he blinked slowly then for a split second he thought he had seen, two fiery, glowing, piercing eyes appear in the centre of the ring and stare right at him; Shocked, Toby let out a cry and toppled backwards, falling right out of the bed with a rather loud thump, the blankets following after him, causing him to become tangled. Scrambling around amongst the sheets, Toby managed to pull himself free, getting quickly to his feet he took a couple of steps backwards; his eyes looking somewhat afraid, he stared down at the crumple of sheets, the chain had become caught on a stray thread, causing it to loosen and fall from his neck.

Through the thickness of white sheets, the glow from the ring of fire could easily be seen; then a voice, as if travelling on an invisible wind spoke through the stillness of the room, it was one Toby had never heard before _"Toby…listen to the winds of change…" _Looking around wildly, the six-year-old was trying to pin point where the voice was coming from, his heart racing as he spoke "W-who's there, what do you mean?" But as quickly as the voice had arrived, it had vanished into nothingness; the glow of the fire ring had dimmed, before finally going out entirely; Toby's eyes travelled back to the pile of sheets, a look of fear streaked across his features.

The sound of the door opening to the hut caused Toby to almost jump out of his skin; he bit his bottom lip and stepped backwards as if he were expecting some ugly monster to burst in and try and get him, but the thoughts of some huge fiery monster vanished entirely when he saw none other than Linka appear inside the door; She had a gentle smile upon her lips, but then blinked and looked from Toby to the pile of sheets upon the floor and back again "Good morning Toby, oh did you fall out of bed?" She frowned and made her way into the hut "Are you alright?"

Making his way over to retrieve the rings from within the sheets, Toby nodded "Um yeah, I'm alright, guess I was dreaming and fell out of bed!" Feeling around within the sheet, his hand then clasped around the silvery chain, lifting it up he then tried to clip it back together around his neck, finding it difficult to do so, since he couldn't see. A look of slight frustration crossed his features, seeing the slight struggle, Linka smiled and made her way over "Here, let me help you with that Toby" Blinking his bright green eyes, Toby nodded slowly, moving around to stand behind him; Linka gently clipped the silvery chain back in place, patting the young boy gently upon his small shoulder "There we are, all fixed!"

Linka went to pull her hand away, but she was stopped in the motion when Toby reached up his own and gently grabbed a hold of hers, turning around to face her, he peered up at her. A gentle smile was resting upon his lips "Thanks." Unable to help but get lost in the innocent depths of his bright green eyes, Linka smiled warmly "Aww, you are welcome Toby." Raising her hand from Toby's grasp, she then gently ruffled his red hair softly, before suggesting "How about we go and get something to eat, you must be hungry." Nodding, Toby felt his stomach growl and giggled a little "Well I am pretty hungry, so let's go!"

Linka led the way out of her hut and over towards the Crystal Chamber; it was also home to a kitchen a sitting area, and it was there that the Planeteers hung out when they weren't on an Eco-emergency. Kwame, Ma-ti, Gi and surprisingly Wheeler were all up bright and early that morning, he and Linka had been discussing the incidents with Toby yesterday, until Linka had decided to go and see if Toby was awake.

Upon re-entering the Crystal Chamber, now with Toby who was holding onto her hand, Linka spotted Wheeler poke his head around the entrance to the kitchen and grinned "Hey, the little guy is awake after all; I thought he would've slept all day after what happened yesterday!" Entering the kitchen, Toby gazed around curiously, he smiled and greeted the others happily "Morning everyone, I was wondering what's for breakfast, I'm starving!" Wheeler grinned at the small boy, he certainly seemed more lively than he had been yesterday, walking over to ruffle his hair playfully Wheeler responded "Starving huh, well your in luck little buddy, we just finished making pancakes!"

Hearing what was on the menu, Toby's face lit up and he grinned "Alright, my favourite!" Instantly making himself at home in the kitchen, Toby had picked out a spot on the dining table, quite looking forward to the breakfast treat; He watched Wheeler, stack two, steaming hot pancakes on a plate, he grinned "Alrighty bud, here's breakfast for ya, enjoy!" Setting the plate down in front of Toby, Wheeler then trickled some nice warm, golden syrup on top of the pancakes, to add the finishing touch. For a moment Toby just stared at the pancakes, a huge grin on his features "Yay! Awesome, thanks!" With that he dug right in after he was handed a fork.

Wheeler, Linka, Kwame, Gi and Ma-ti all took a seat at the dining table, quite looking forward to their delicious breakfast, that amazingly Wheeler had cooked all by himself. Picking up her fork and smirking somewhat in Wheeler's direction who was sitting on the left side of Toby, Linka couldn't help but make a comment "Wow Wheeler, I had no idea that you could cook, let alone make Hotcakes!" Having shoved a huge piece of pancake into his mouth, Wheeler blinked and raised an eye brow, his voice muffled as he spoke "Hey watch it there babe, and that's 'Pancakes' Linka." Shaking her head and taking a bite of her own breakfast, much more gracefully and politely than her red-headed companion, she swallowed before responding "Same thing and that was a compliment Yankee!"

The other Planeteers were highly impressed by how well Wheeler had cooked the pancakes, Kwame couldn't help but add in "Linka is right, I have never seen you cook anything other than toast, or as you Americans call them 'Hot dogs' so this is defiantly a treat!" Toby who was half way through his second pancake and having sticky syrup all over his face, chimed in on the conversation "These are the best pancakes ever; I wanna have these EVERY morning!" Licking his lips, his bright green eyes shining with glee, he let out a giggle. Grinning and gently nudging Toby with his shoulder, Wheeler cheerfully replied "Now this little guy knows good pancakes when he's had them!"

Now that his plate was bare, Toby held it out and grinned "Could I have some more please!" Wheeler who had just finished his own breakfast off, smiled and nodded "Sure kiddo, I don't see the problem with that, I made plenty!" Linka and the others were still eating their first serving, but both Wheeler and Toby were onto the second helping. As soon as Wheeler returned with both plates full of pancakes, Toby immediately suggested "Hey, um…Wheeler, we should have a race to see who can eat the quickest!" Blinking his sky blue eyes, Wheeler couldn't help but jump to the chance of a little competition with his new little buddy "Heh you're on Toby!" But before either of them had a chance to start, Linka interrupted "Nyet! I do not think that is a good idea Wheeler!"

Stopping in his action to start the race; Wheeler blinked a couple of times at Linka, not seeing the issue "Aww come on babe, why not, it's just for fun!" Narrowing her eyes, Linka wouldn't hear of it "It is a bad idea!" Smirking, unable to pass up this chance to flirt, Wheeler leaned over towards Linka and wrapped his arm around her shoulder "Aww come on Babe, worried about me eating too much?" Scoffing and raising her own hand to push Wheeler's arm off from around her shoulders, Linka responded coolly "Nyet, it is not you I am worried about Wheeler, these so-called-eating contests, never end well, Toby is only a little boy, it will make him sick!"

Linka's attention shifted to Toby, when she heard him whine and her approach to him was much sweeter "I am sorry Toby, but it will only end up making you sick." Pouting and crossing his small arms and leaning back in his chair, staring at the plate stacked with pancakes, just waiting to be gulped down, the six-year-old responded "Aww, but I wanted to race Wheeler!" Getting to her feet, clearing the table of her own plate and carrying it over to the sink, Linka peered back over her shoulder at the small boy "There are plenty of other ways to race, besides pigging out on pancakes, you do not want to end up with a tummy ache correct?"  
Ma-ti who was just getting to his feet, full from his own breakfast, backed Linka up when he noticed Wheeler was about to protest. "Linka is correct my little friend, why don't you and Wheeler come up with a more sensible way to race each other." Toby closed his bright green eyes, letting out a huge sigh "Okay…" Noticing that they had all finished eating, Kwame jumped in "My friends, before we think of going to have any fun, perhaps now would be the time for Toby to explain a few things first…" Gi had cleared the table of her own plate, agreeing with Kwame "Of course, great idea Kwame!"

The others had all agreed, Wheeler turned his attention to Toby and gave him a smile "Waddaya say little buddy, you think maybe you could tell us a little about those rings of yours?" He pointed towards the chain that held the rings around the little red-heads neck. Suddenly feeling all eyes upon him, Toby became somewhat nervous and instinctively raised his hand to grasp at both rings, his voice soft "Um…I I'm not really sure…" Noticing his uneasiness, Linka made her way over at sat down next to Toby, she had a cloth she'd instinctively grabbed, resting her hand gently up under Toby's chin, and she raised his head with care and started to wipe away all traces of the sticky syrup that occupied his features. "It is alright Toby, you can tell us anything, and we will understand I am sure."

Blinking slowly as he looked into Linka's eyes, Toby felt more at ease and managed to smile, before frowning and looking around at the everyone, his voice full of honesty as he spoke "Well…I really don't know what to tell you, I can't say I really know much myself…" he bit his bottom lip, he had purposely left the part out about his parents, he could only hope that there wouldn't be any questions about them. All the Planeteers exchanged glances with one another, raising an eye brow Wheeler then asked "Hey bud, remember yesterday in the alley way, when Linka and I first met you, you said some weird name…'Noo…Noo something.'

For a moment, Toby didn't seem to know what Wheeler was talking about, but then it suddenly clicked; his green eyes went rather wide "Oh! Of course, I remember now, you mean Nootau…" Clicking his fingers, Wheeler nodded "Yeah, that thing!" Becoming rather curious about this, Kwame couldn't help but press the subject "Who is this…Nootau Toby, a friend of yours?" Blinking, and slowly turning his gaze down to stare at the ring of fire, the six-year-old answered "I guess, it's something like that…its hard for me to explain…"

Reaching over her hand to rest it over Toby's small one; Linka smiled and softly encouraged "Try Toby, we will all do our best to understand, after all we do wish to help you." Receiving reassuring nods from the others, Toby managed to smile, before taking a deep breath "I…well I don't really know a whole lot, but you know that blaze that happened in Greenton…Nootau did that." Gripping at the fire ring tightly, Toby bit his bottom lip, trying to think of the best way to explain this.

"Well, you know how with all your rings, you can control each element and create…different stuff, well you see the two rings here that I have, they can do all that too…but Fire and Wind have kind of gone further than that." With their curiosity peaking, all five Planeteers looked at each other once more, before Ma-ti questioned, trying not to sound too excited "Further than that, what do you mean Toby?" Gi whose eyes were holding quite a bit of curiosity couldn't help but ask "You mean they have new powers or something?" Thinking about this for a moment, Toby couldn't help but go back to the memory of the voice he had heard that morning in Linka's hut; He then nodded "Yeah, I guess that would be the way to put it, but its not just like your average new ability."

Slightly confused on where this conversation was going, Wheeler scratched at his cheek, his eye brow ached "Not like your average new ability, what do you mean little buddy?"  
Realising he would need to explain a little bit better, even though it was frustrating for a six-year-old to know exactly how to put things; Toby endured his frustration and opened his mouth to respond, but was stopped in his tracks when Gaia's voice was heard "Sorry to interrupt this interesting conversation Planeteers, but I need all of you to report to the Crystal Chamber."

Disappointed that their conversation with little Toby had been brought to a halt; The Planeteers heeded Gaia's words, for it was their duty to report when Gaia asked them too. Getting to his feet Kwame was the first to speak "I guess our conversation will have to wait for later my friends, we must go and see what Gaia wants." Sighing with disappointed, Wheeler stood up from his seat "Man, just when it was getting to the good part!" Linka smiled at Toby, before standing "Da, but we can always talk about it again later, come on everyone let's go!"

Leading the way out of the dining area and down a small amount of crystal stairs that led into the opening of the Crystal Chamber, Kwame questioned as Gi and Ma-ti followed in suit "I wonder what could be up this time; Gaia didn't seem too worried this time." Wheeler and Linka had stayed behind for a moment, "Man…Gaia didn't sound too worried, I wonder if maybe she interrupted us on purpose?" Wheeler had questioned, his eye brow arched. Shaking her head, Linka shook off the feeling that told her, that may have been the case "Nyet, I do not think so Wheeler, anyway." Turning her attention to Toby who was still sitting at the table, she smiled "You should come along with us Toby, if the mission is not too dangerous, you may be able to come along with us."

Eyes lighting up at the idea of maybe being able to go with the Planeteers on an Eco-emergency; Toby hopped down from his seat and took off down the crystal stairs, heading in the direction he had seen the others go; Stopping, he turned around to face Wheeler and Linka with a smile "Well come on then, let's go!" Looking at one another, Wheeler and Linka smiled before following after him; Upon arrival in the Crystal Chamber, Gaia was already waiting for them all; She smiled at the sight of her Planeteers, then her eyes moved to gaze upon Toby, who had come bursting through the five Planeteers, standing in front of them and questioning "What's the Eco-emergency?"

Realising that Gaia had not actually met Toby; Linka stepped forwards when she noticed the slightly amused look on the spirit of the earth's features "Oh Gaia, I do not think you have met our new friend, this is Toby we picked him up from Greenton." Wheeler nodded "Yeah, ahh you see Gaia, he's…" Wheeler couldn't finish, since Gaia had smiled and shook her head "Never mind that now Wheeler, it's quite alright." Smiling at the new little extra the Planeteers had brought onto Hope Island, Gaia kindly introduced herself "It's very nice to meet you Toby."  
Blinking a couple of times, Toby grinned shyly and rubbed the back of his head, unknown to most he already knew who Gaia was, but he went along with the introduction anyway "Nice to meet ya too, so the Eco-emergency, its it time to go kick some villain butt!"

Amused by the young ones enthusiasm, Gaia laughed gently before turning her attention the Crystal Screen; her face becoming more serious as an image of a rainforest, that was filled with many species of terrified birds in the far East of Africa appeared. "I'm afraid Africa's bird species are being threatened by Dr Blight; apparently she has been using them to conduct mutant experiments."  
The image had shifted, to show a huge purple ship, very similar to the one that Blight had been seen in other encounters the Planeteers had with her, but this time it had undergone an upgrade.

The Planeteers couldn't believe what they were seeing, birds of all sort were trying to escape the electrifying nets that were blasted at them, shocking them enough to knock them unconscious, long enough for Blight to pick them up and take them aboard her ship. The cries, squeals and squawking of the helpless animals sent chills up each of the Planeteers spines; Toby's bright green eyes had gone wide, shocked at the sight of cruelty "Those birds!" Linka who had always had a big love for birds, seemed effected the most out of all the Planeteers, stepping forwards anger and sadness running through her body she insulted Dr Blight "NYET! That evil, good for nothing old hag, how could anyone be so cruel to such beautiful animals!" Feeling her standing just behind him, Toby turned his head to peer up at Linka, a look of sadness upon his features when he noticed tears in her eyes.

Wheeler who was right behind her, raised his hand to rest upon Linka's shoulder "Hey don't worry babe, we'll stop that old witch, no matter what it takes!" Unable to look at the screen any longer, Kwame looked away and nodded "Alright Planeteers, to Eastern Africa we go!" Already heading out the door Ma-ti looked back "Do not worry Gaia, will stop Blight!" Nodding her head as the screen went blank once more, Gaia watched them all leave, followed closely by Toby "Be careful Planeteers, you too Toby." Looking back over his shoulder at the beautiful spirit of the earth, there was a moment where the two of them shared knowing looks, he then nodded "Don't worry, I'll be okay!" With that the small red-head raced to catch up with the others, as they all headed to the Geo-cruiser.

Allowing the Planeteers to scramble in first, Toby followed after them; Linka's hand then stretched out in front of him, blinking he peered up at her seeing the worry on her face "Nyet Toby, I do not think it would be a good idea for you to join us on this mission." Face dropping Toby responded "Aww, come on please let me come too! I won't get in the way I promise!" Linka didn't seem too convinced, she knew that bringing a six-year-old along on such a dangerous mission was risky; she feared that Toby could be hurt or worse. "Nyet…I am sorry little one, it is too dangerous."

Desperate to make her see that he wanted to help out the birds just as much as what she did, Toby gave her a serious look "But I wanna help those birds just as much as what you do, I love birds, my Mummy taught me to play their songs so they'd fly over to say hello to you, we used to spend hours up on the mountain cliffs playing the melodies that they sang!" Hearing this information out of no where, Linka looked somewhat taken aback by the child's words, and yet there was something very familiar about them. Before she had a chance to respond, Wheeler had stepped in; wrapping his arm around Linka's waist he gave her a reassuring smile "Aww come on Linka babe, let the little guy come along, we'll be able to keep an eye on him, no worries!"

Narrowing her green eyes slightly at Wheeler; Linka looked from him to Toby whose bright green eyes were pleading with her own "Please let me come along…I promise I won't be any trouble." Unable to uphold her decision against the puppy dog eyes that both Toby and Wheeler were giving her; Linka finally gave up with a defeated sigh "Bozhe moi you two, everyone would be thinking the world is ending with the looks your both giving me, fine Toby you may come; but on one condition, if things become too dangerous and I tell you to run and hide, then you must promise me you will do so."

Toby opened his mouth to protest, but shrunk slightly under the serious gaze Linka was bestowing upon him; Sighing he then nodded "Okay, I promise!" Now satisfied that Toby agreed to her condition; Linka smiled and leaned down to hug the boys small figure "Good, I only want you to be safe after all, come on let's go sit down." Moving his arm reluctantly from around Linka's waist; Wheeler grinned "Alright, well let's go track down Blight, Kwame wing it!" Once they were all seated, Kwame lifted the Geo-cruiser up into the air, "Non-stop flight to Eastern Africa, here we come!"

Toby who was buckled up beside Linka, peered out the window and watched as Hope Island grew smaller as the Geo-cruiser smoothly made its way through the sky, disappearing up into some white fluffy clouds that were scattered all over the place. Sitting back in his seat properly, Toby then asked "How long will it take to get to Eastern Africa?" Gi was the one who answered, turning her head to look at Toby "A while, forty-eight hours to be exact." Hearing this, Toby's mouth fell open and he toppled backwards, landing across Linka's lap with a groan "Forty-eight hours! But that will take forever!" Rather amused by Toby's impatience, Linka couldn't help but giggle "Oh come on Toby, it will not take as long as you may think, we'll be there in no time, while we are waiting why don't you tell me a little more about those songs you play for the birds?"

Hearing this request, Toby didn't seem bothered by the hours that they all would be spending on the Geo-Cruiser, sitting back up he replied "Well, there is all different ones, it's really hard to describe them actually…" Smiling and remembering she had left her small Organ tucked safely up under the seat they were currently sitting in; Linka leaned over and reached her hand down under the seat, feeling her hand grasp around a steel like strap, carefully she pulled up a rectangle leather case and placed it upon her knee; Unclipping the latches and opening up the lid to reveal a beautiful light blue Organ, Linka sits it over onto Toby's lap "Here, why don't you give it a try."

Green eyes going wide at the sight of the Organ, Toby then smiled "Um sure, I'll give it a try." Wheeler, Ma-ti and Gi had all turned to face Toby, curious to see just how well he could play. Kwame was too busy concentrating on piloting the Geo-Cruiser to shift his attention, but still he was listening, closing his bright green eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath, Toby placed his fingers upon certain keys on the organ and gently started to play a melodious sort of tune, which sounded somewhat like a lullaby.

Silently the Planeteers all listened, each one of them completely drawn into the depths of the melody, it appeared to have a soothing effect on everyone. Suchi, who had been resting upon Ma-ti's shoulder, had slid down into his master's arms, drifting off into a rather peaceful sleep. The moment Toby had finished playing, The Planeteers were speechless for a moment; then it was Wheeler who broke the silence, "Whoa, little buddy that was amazing, where'd you learn to play like that?" Gi smiled "Your very talented Toby, you should be proud!" The others all murmured with agreement, feeling his cheeks heat up; Toby rubbed the back of his head, with a shy little giggle "Well um I did learn from the best!"

Linka was the one who had become the most awed from Toby's playing; the beautiful music had brought a tear to her eye and she couldn't help but compliment greatly "Da, that was so amazing Toby, that melody was absolutely beautiful, whoever taught you that must be very special to you." Turning his bright green eyes to look into hers, the six-year-old gave her a sweet smile and nodded "My…Mummy, taught me all the songs I know on the Organ, the one I just played well it's the most special one..." It was in that precise moment that Toby's thoughts took him on a trip down memory lane; back to one of the nights he had fallen sick with a really bad fever. His Mother had not left his side once that night, and in the hours that he was in tears from feeling so unwell; she had taken him into her arms and played that very same melody to soothe him, when medicine could only do so much. It had helped in many cases, but the true medicine, the one that never failed was defiantly the pure love that a Mother held for her child.

Revisiting such a memory, caused a pang in Toby's heart; raising a hand he gently wiped the back of it across his eyes, before leaning over to rest against Linka his voice quiet "It's actually really a lullaby, my Mummy…well she always played it for me when I wasn't feeling well, or when something had happened that upset me."

Unable to take her eyes off Toby, Linka was soon overcome by the same feeling she had felt only the day before when Toby had first taken her hand in the alley way. Wheeler was the first to notice her sudden silence; he was sitting in the seat across from her and had instantly noticed the clouding that had fallen within her beautiful green eyes. "Hey…Linka are you alright?" Snapping out of her trance, her Yankee's words had brought her back to reality; peering over at Wheeler whom had raised his eye brow in confusion, she gave him a warm smile "Oh I am fine Wheeler, guess I drifted off there for a moment." Instinctively she rested her arm up around Toby's small shoulders; ignoring the slightly concerned look Wheeler was giving her, before he finally turned his attention to the little guy "Your Mum used to play lullabies for ya huh? That's so cool, speaking of that, where exactly are your parents Toby?"

Tensing up at the question; one he was hoping he would never have to answer, well at least not this soon anyway; Toby felt his heart beat increase a little as he tried to think of a way to answer "I…um, I'm not sure I…became separated from them a little while ago, I don't know where they are now…" It was true he had been separated from them, but they were in fact a lot closer than what Toby was planning on letting on; It was just too soon to tell them the full truth, especially since he had yet to explain what is he knew about the two rings that he carried. Gently rubbing at his shoulder in a soothing manner with her hand, Linka felt saddened by Toby's words and reassured "Aww, do not worry darling, we will all help you find your parents, I promise."

Punching the ait with his fist; Wheeler backed Linka up "What she said little buddy, after we find some time, we'll go and track your parents down like a group of Blood Hounds, we'll search every corner, nook and cranny of this entire world if we have too!" Ma-ti leaned over the back of Wheeler's seat and raised his hand "I second to that my friend!" Gi and Kwame also agreed to help out, it seemed all the Planeteers had grown quite fond of Toby over a very short time that they had known him; Linka especially and even Wheeler felt very similar along with Linka, even though it was still somewhat unknown to him of just how close he was going to get to little Toby.

Turning his brown eyes to peer within the clouds that surrounded the Geo-Cruiser; Kwame suddenly frowned, realising the clouds were growing quite dark up a head and lightening could be seen flashing every now and again. Turning his attention to the others he alerted "I think we may be in for quite a bad storm my friends, those clouds in the distance look nasty, you best all prepare yourselves for a bumpy ride." Gi nodded "Kwame is right; we'll have to be very careful we don't get hit by lightening." As Environmentally-friendly the Geo-Cruiser was, a hit to one of the wings or engine could spell disaster, and the Planeteers couldn't really afford to crash land before reaching their destination.

Spotting the clouds; Toby looked quite worried "Aw man…I hate storms!" Closing his eyes tightly he hid his face against Linka's side, who gave a reassuring smile "Aww, do not worry Toby, we will be alright, the Geo-Cruiser has dealt with many storms, it is rare that something drastic happens." Toby felt more secure from Linka's words, he peered up at her and smiled, unknown to him as well as the others, they were all in for one long, bumpy ride that would defiantly spell trouble.


	5. Chapter Five: Gone?

**A/N: Finally I've managed to get chapter five completed; I apologise for the wait on this everyone, I've been pretty busy of late. Anyway I hope the chapter makes up for the wait, its a little longer than my last ones and there was still so much more that I wanted to place within this chapter, but I think I best leave the rest for chapter six. Well...no one kill me for what has happened in this chapter! Please do enjoy and let me know what you think, I appreciate all reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Captain Planet, the chracters are the property of Ted Turner and Hanna Babera, I only own Toby.**

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While the Planeteers were about to be faced with a seriously bumpy ride; Dr Blight continued her plans in Eastern Africa, as she watched the terror unfold with the cruelty she was inflicting upon the birds; Blight held a satisfied smirk "Ahh, just listen to those helpless cries, now that's music to my ears, wouldn't you agree MAL baby?" Descending down upon his monitor that was attached to an automatic robotic arm, MAL grinned "Right you are Dr Blight, just think a few more of those annoying feather brains and your brilliant plan will be successful!"

Pushing herself up from her seat, Dr Blight made her way over towards another room, which was sealed off by an automatic door that acquired a code to be opened; punching in the right characters, so the door would open at her will, Blight then slowly made her way into a large room that was full of cages that had terrified birds flapping frantically, trying to find a way out. Smirking and picking out a specific cage that held a mother Starling and her terrified chicks, Blight sneered down upon the beautiful creatures as if they were nothing but trash "Just you wait my little feathered friends, Dr Blight has a special plan for all of you…" Her laugh was cold and almost maniac sounding.

MAL always took great pleasure in being apart of his Doctors, evil and insane experiments, but he could not help but question "What if those Planetpunks show up Dr Blight, I'm surprised they haven't arrived already." Snorting and opening the cage door to the Starling family; Blight roughly grabbed at one of the chicks, ignoring its helpless cries, angered that one of her babies had been taken from her, the mother Starling mustered up the courage to fight back, pecking and clawing at Blight's hand, who narrowed her one eye "Back off you stupid, worthless pest!"

Reaching over her other hand to the side of the table the cage was sitting upon, she picked up a strange device that had a smaller electrifying net, resting it just through the cage door, she pressed a button; It may not have been as big as the ones she was using that came from her ship, but it was just as painfully powerful, having heat sensors it found the Mother Starling, no matter how much she tried to get away, wrapping itself tightly around the feathered body of its target, bright blue electricity instantly coursing its way through the helpless birds body; causing it to cry out in pain, before collapsing in a feathery heap upon the cage floor.

Smirking with pure satisfaction; Dr Blight finally spoke to MAL "Oh they'll be here soon enough Sweetems…" Turning her piercing blue eye to peer outside through the huge glass window that stretched across the front of her ship, her smirked lingered at the dark clouds in the far distance "If they can first get through that electrifying storm…" A chuckle erupted in her throat, she was aware of the fact the Planeteers would most defiantly be stuck in the electricity storm she had so happily created for them by the use of her invisible storm rods, she had purposely planted on her way here to Eastern Africa.

Dr Blight wasn't wrong either; the group of now six friends were caught in a raging storm of bright purplish, blue lightening the sound it was emitting was almost deafening; Kwame and Gi were struggling to keep the Geo-Cruiser from being struck, as the hungry zig-zagging bolts of light were deliberately trying to shoot them out of the sky. Toby whom was absolutely terrified, hid his face against Linka's side, she had an arm wrapped tightly around him, gasping as the Geo-Cruiser fell swiftly to the left as Kwame barely dodged another lightening strike; he couldn't believe how fast the storm had come on, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face, his hands gripping tightly at the controls of the Geo-Cruiser "Hang on my friends, I will try to get us out of this storm!"

Wheeler who had turned to sit to his side, was hanging on for dear life to the back of his seat "Good luck with that Kwame; from where I'm sittin I can't even see one small patch of blue sky!" Suchi was screeching loudly, panicked by the loud sounds and flashing effects of the lightening that was coming at them from all directions. Ma-Ti was trying his best to clam his little furry friend down, but found that difficult when he could hear the panicking beats of his own heart in his ears "This is not good everyone, I have never seen so much lightening in one place before!"

Unable to take her eyes upon the darkened clouds, which only seemed to become even denser, Gi spoke loudly over the top of crashing sounds of the bizarre storm "This is defiantly a freak storm, all I know is if we don't get out it soon, the Geo-Cruiser is going to be taken down for sure!" Those words didn't help the panic that was rising in everyone; Toby had let out a whimper, closing his eyes tightly as Kwame quickly swerved to the far left, flipping the Geo-Cruiser entirely over in a sickening motion to avoid being struck by another large bolt of pure terror. There was no way they were going to get out of this on their own; Captain Planet would have to be summoned.

Straightening the Geo-Cruiser and managing to hold it in place; Kwame took this chance to raise his ring hand "We need Captain Planet, let our powers combine, Earth!" The centre of Kwame's ring glowed but quickly dimmed and then went out, confused on his rings behaviour he replied "My ring, its not working!" Shocked, the others all looked at their rings; Wheeler pointed his upwards and called "Fire!" his ring did the same as Kwame's, utterly confused he lowered his hand and stared at it "What gives?" Peering out her side of the window; Gi had found the reason "No wonder our powers aren't working, this electric storm is full of pollution!" Ma-Ti was looking out his own window, he could see a purplish smog that appeared to be leaking from the darkened clouds; his brow furrowed in deep concern "If we cannot call Captain Planet, then we are in trouble my friends!"

Highly concerned for all of their safety's; Linka peered down at Toby who was starting to look somewhat pale, the quick movements of the Geo-Cruiser were making him air-sick "Oh, what are we going to do, if we cannot call Captain Planet…" She was trying to keep herself calm and collected for the child's sake, but she herself could not help but wince slightly when another mass of lightening thundered around them.

Determined to keep everyone calm, in spite of their rather life threatening situation Kwame reassured "Do not worry everyone, we will get out of this." Toby raised his head from hiding it against Linka's side, his face as pale as a sheet, his voice was fearful and barely audible "I don't feel very well…" the realisation of this didn't take long to make itself known, Toby quickly moved away from Linka, who didn't have a chance to act on the situation that was unfolding; Feeling his stomach churn and launch, Toby opened his mouth and vomited, the pancakes he had had for breakfast making a very unpleasant appearance compared to the golden brown and sweet-smelling ones he had eaten earlier on that morning, with a loud splatter the contents of the six-year-olds stomach ran in all directions upon the Geo-Cruiser's floor as Kwame swivelled it to avoid being struck once again.

Sliding a little; although his belt was tight around him; Wheeler caught sight of the accident as well as being able to smell it that Toby had just had, and he couldn't help but make a comment on it "Clean up on isle… Ahhh!" Suddenly being forced back against the window, since he slid in his seat Wheeler then caught sight of a purplish, reddish glow on right wing of the Geo-Cruiser "Uh oh, we've been hit guys!" Kwame, who was now struggling even more than before with keeping the Geo-Cruiser steady, replied "I am already aware of that Wheeler!"

Gi gripped the co-pilot controls with all her strength; the storm clouds were so dense now, that it was merely impossible to see two feet in front of the eye, panicked she called "We're losing power on the right wing, the panels aren't responding!" Linka; heart racing had pulled Toby into her lap, who looked just as scared as what everyone else did "We're gonna crash!" he managed to shout over the top of the raging storm. Raising her hand to rest gently over his ear, in hopes of blocking out some of the noise, Linka tried to sooth him "Do not worry Toby, we will be alright, no matter what happens!"

Wheeler had torn his gaze away from the Geo-Cruiser's wing, within the fear and the loud beating of his own heart, the American teen felt powerless without the use of his ring, if only they could summon Captain Planet; he'd get them out of this sticky situation, but today all odds appeared to be against them. Sky blue eyes coming to rest upon Linka and Toby, seeing them cuddled up together like that, fear clearly etched across their features sparked something deep within Wheeler's heart, a strong desire to suddenly be closer to them, to protect at all costs over took him entirely. Before he even knew what he was doing, the eighteen-year-old red head had unbuckled his seat belt, the only thing that was keeping him from being tossed all over the place. Standing up from his seat, Wheeler managed to steady himself and made his way over to Linka's seat, careful to avoid the puddle of vomit left behind by Toby.

Feeling a familiar presence alongside her; one she knew so well, Linka opened her eyes and turned her head, just as Wheeler came to sit himself down beside her "Nyet, Wheeler what are you doing out of your seat, it is too dangerous!" though this wasn't the time, nor the exact place, the Russian blonds green eyes met his deep sky blue ones; There was something in them she'd only seen on a number of occasions, on those times she had been in danger, but this time they held an even stronger flame than before. Resting one arm up around Linka's shoulder and the other up around Toby, Wheeler replied "Stuff my seat belt, the three of us have gotta stick together Linka, we'll come outta this in one piece I just know it!" In spite of the danger that was falling upon them, the red-head flashed them both a reassuring sort of grin.

Bang, another lightening bolt had struck the left wing, causing it to smoke and catch on fire in a matter of seconds; Kwame and Gi had tried their hardest to avoid the attacks, but it appeared they were finally out of luck "Oh no, the other wing has gone I-I can't keep control!" Gi's voice was laced with pure fear; Kwame closing his eyes tightly tried his best to keep in control of the Geo-Cruiser, but failed with no working wings to keep balance, its nose tipped downwards; with no way out this time, The Planeteers could only pray that they would survive the impact that was coming.

Picking up speed in its fall, the darkened sky zipped upwards away from the Geo-Cruiser, a loud cracking and splitting sound tore at they already fear-filled atmosphere, the gravity ripped away at the damaged wings, causing bits and pieces to break off in all directions. Realising the failure to keep everyone out of harm, Kwame shouted "I am sorry everyone!" Ma-Ti called "It is not over yet Kwame, do not lose heart!" Wheeler, whom was still hugging Linka and Toby to him, agreed "Ma-Ti is right, we've fallen out of the sky plenty of times!" This really was no time to joke around, Kwame had about to respond when the left side of the Geo-Cruiser scraped roughly against what sounded like rock, causing the group of friends to be sent side ways in their seats; Wheeler almost fell backwards but he managed to keep his balance.

The lightening storm appeared to be following them, the darkened clouds were so thick with pollution, it was impossible to tell what dangerous objects were in the Geo-Cruiser's path, the scraping sound had left the Planeteers ears ringing, Wheeler squinted his sky blue eyes, in hopes of being able to see what it was that they just hit "Is it just me, or did that sound like a mountain?" he asked, as Kwame and Gi hopelessly tried to steer the Geo-Cruiser, even though they were flying blindly, Gi was the one that answered "I don't know, but we're in big trouble!" the water Planeteer wasn't far off, through the thick cloud and ear splitting sound of the lightening, the Geo-Cruiser's bottom finally hit what sounded like solid rock, sparks flew as it slid uncontrollably across its landing sanctuary; Kwame steered the controls, left and right trying to regain control. The scraping of metal against rock was sickening, Wheeler, Linka and Ma-Ti had all raised their hands to their ears, desperately trying to block out the noise.

"Hang on everyone!" Kwame's words were drowned out as bits and pieces of rock flew up and slammed into the solar panelled windows of the Geo-Cruiser, causing it to chip and crack, pulling the controls upwards with all his might, the Eco-friendly aircraft finally came to a stand still. Breathing heavily, Kwame sat back in his seat, sweat running down the side of his face as a wave of relief washed over him "We made it…" was all the African teen could say, all the Planeteers breathed a sigh of relief, Wheeler loosened his hold on both Linka and Toby, the six-year-old had hidden his face against Linka, slowly he opened his bright green eyes his voice shaky and small "Have we landed yet…?"

Linka raised her head from resting against Wheeler's shoulder, her heartbeat was banging in her ear drums as she replied, somewhat out of breath from fear "Da, we have landed, are you alright little one?" Toby opened his mouth to respond when a huge groan suddenly emitted from the Geo-Cruiser, quickly retreating to hide against Linka once more, Toby let out a whimper, his voice muffled "What was that!" Kwame had frozen in his seat, the lightening storm was still raging above them, they hadn't realised it yet but the Geo-Cruiser had come to a halt right at the very edge of a large cliff, which they had miraculously landed on, one wrong move and over they would go.

Squinting her eyes, trying to see out of the Geo-Cruiser window; Gi could only see nothing but pure blackness, another creaking sound from their aircraft caused realisation to dawn upon her; Brown eyes going wide the sound of her voice caused the others to jump "Oh no, no one move, not one inch!" Everyone froze, the atmosphere, once again becoming tense, Kwame carefully craned his neck in hopes of being able to see what was outside "I can see nothing…this is not good!" Feeling uneasy, Wheeler pressed "Yo, could one of you please tell me what the big deal is?"

Kwame had narrowed his eyes; he didn't even look at Wheeler, afraid that if he made a single move the Geo-Cruiser would slide over the cliff edge entirely "I do not want to alarm anyone, but…he was unable to finish his sentence as the Geo-Cruiser slid forwards a little, groaning loudly; Toby had let out a cry of fright, the sound of the Eco-friendly aircraft was enough to convince Wheeler what was happening "Uh oh…this is bad, really bad!" Suchi screeched loudly, clinging to the side of Ma-Ti's head, the South American Planeteer spoke "What are we going to do my friends; we're half hanging over a cliff face!"

While Linka tried to sooth Toby, even though she herself was terrified the Wind bearer suggested, trying to keep her voice even "What if we all move to the back of the Geo-Cruiser, if all our weight is off the front, it may be enough for us to fall backwards, instead of frontwards." Wheeler jumped to that opportunity "You're a genius babe, why don't we do that!" out of excitement that the plan would work, the pyro Planeteer had stood up fast without thinking; the sudden movement caused the Geo-Cruiser to creak and threaten to lean forwards "WHEELER!" the others had shouted all together, freezing on the spot, his hands held upwards slightly the American teen grinned sheepishly "Oh uh, sorry guys!"

"That is a very good plan Linka, but if either one of us moves too fast or too much…" Gi was unable to finish her sentence; they all knew that a tumble from the cliff would surely be the end of them all. "If only we could call Captain Planet!" Kwame had added "But with all this pollution, our powers will not work." Wheeler had not moved from his current position, although he was starting to get rather uncomfortable, his sky blue eyes turned to the floor, his nose wrinkled when he realised he had stood up right in the pool of vomit "Urgh well we better think of somethin Planeteers, we can't say here all day!"

Ma-Ti whom was furthest up the back of the Geo-Cruiser, began to look around, his chocolate brown eyes fell on the window to his side, an idea had suddenly struck him "Wait my friends, listen the Geo-Cruiser has pressure points does it not?" Linka peered over her shoulder at Ma-Ti "Why yes it does, but how would we break one?" Gi peered at her ring "If only my water powers were working, I could break one of the window pressure points no worries." Though he wasn't always the brightest one of the group, Wheeler suddenly remembered "Hold on there Gi, we won't need your ring after all!" The others all gave their fiery friend confused looks, so he continued "Ma-Ti, your closest, see if that fire extinguisher is still under the gear cupboard!"

Amused on why Wheeler would want to find something like that at a time like this, Ma-Ti questioned "Um why would you want something like that a time like this Wheeler?" Mentally slapping himself, Wheeler couldn't believe his younger friend wasn't getting the hint "Hello, the fire extinguisher will give us the pressure that we need, if we jam its tube in between the window, let it roll and...Linka finished the sentence for him "Then the pressure will build up and cause the window to burst off!" Kwame and Gi felt hopeful; Wheeler wasn't really the smartest in their group, but in times of great danger, he really had a knack of coming through when they were in need; "Wheeler, your right great idea!" Gi praised, Kwame nodded "Well done my friend, this actually could really work!"

Though she wasn't about to really admit it, Linka was impressed by Wheeler's quick thinking, it must have been the tone in her voice that caused her to sound impressed, "Da, Wheeler maybe your head isn't so full of hot air after all." The moment he heard those words; the red-head gave the Russian blond a flirtatious sort of grin "What's this, looks like I can impress the babe after all!" Rolling her bright green eyes and turning them to look at Toby, Linka responded "Bozhe moi…Yankee, do not get a head of yourself, and who said that I was impressed?" Still not moving from his current position, which looked rather amusing Wheeler stated "Your sweet voice says it all babe."

"Sorry to interrupt my friends, but this really isn't the time to be arguing over who is impressed and who isn't." Ma-Ti's voice cut through, slowly and carefully he had gotten to his feet "I will get the extinguisher, no one else move please!" Wheeler raised an eye brow and turned his head to look over his shoulder at his young friend "Easy for you to say little buddy, your not the one that's standing in puke here!" Hearing this, Toby raised his head biting his bottom lip, his face still rather pale "Sorry about that, I didn't mean too…" Carefully turning his head, not wanting to move too many muscles, winking one blue eye at the young boy Wheeler assured "Hey, no worries little buddy; Kwame isn't exactly the smoothest flyer around!"

Kneeling down carefully in front of the small cabinet at the far back of the Geo-Cruiser, Ma-Ti opened its door and peered in, instantly spotting the fire extinguisher, a smile came to his features as he reached in and picked it up "I've got it, luckily it was here to begin with!" Nodding only slightly, Wheeler grinned 'Alright Ma-Ti, now take the nozzle off and just stuff the tube in between the window, we'll be outta here before you can say "Booyah!" Hearing this very strange and very confusing word; Linka questioned her Yankee "Boo-yah, what on dirt does that mean?" Amused by Linka's confused English, Wheeler corrected her "Ahh that's 'Earth' Linka, you mean 'What on earth' and Booyah is just a figure of speech we Americans use when we win in somethin."

The Russian blond was learning a new word nearly every day, ever since she had become a Planeteer and first met Wheeler. Ma-Ti careful and light in his steps, made his way over to the window near his seat, removing the nozzle as Wheeler had asked he then pinched the rubbery tube, just enough so he could jam it in between the window. Leaning back to examine it, the bearer of Heart power said "I sure do hope this works Wheeler." Becoming somewhat impatient since his standing position was beginning to cause his legs to ache, the American red-head answered "Come on little buddy, of course it'll work, just activate it and let it rip!" Shrugging a shoulder, Ma-Ti gripped the handle and squeezed it as hard as he could; seeing as the foamy substance really had nowhere to escape, it slowly began to spread in the tiny the gap of the Geo-Cruiser's window, creeping its way around the corners it didn't take long for the pressure to begin building; Ma-Ti soon found it difficult to keep the handle pressed in, so he gripped it with both hands, holding his breath along with the others as they all waited to see if Wheeler's plan would work.

"I think it may be working my friends, I can feel the pressure building up!" A sudden long and loud groan emitted from the Geo-Cruiser as it leaned even more over the cliff ledge; A flash of lightening, big enough to light up the entire area revealing the bottomless and pitch black drop that was waiting for the Planeteers, eyes going wide at the sight since he and Gi were piloting the Geo-Cruiser, Kwame called "Not to alarm you all, but we need to get out of here now, I do not think the Geo-Cruiser will hold out much longer!"  
As if those words acted as a trigger, the aircraft slid forwards causing its occupants to cry out, before it halted once more, resting dangerously out on a rocky limb wasn't exactly what the Planeteers enjoyed one bit, they had been in many dangerous situations, but this one appeared to be the worst.

"Popping that window out would be a good thing right now little buddy!" Wheeler urged Ma-Ti, who was becoming pressured replied "I am trying Wheeler; it is becoming difficult to hold!" Knowing he had to help, Wheeler slowly took a step back stepping as lightly as what he could "Let me help you out there pal!" The Geo-Cruiser did not move, seeing this as a good sign the American teen took another step backwards, before turning and moving swiftly over to Ma-Ti's seat; Pressing his palms against the glass of the window he instructed "You hold and I'll push Ma-Ti!" Flexing the muscles in his arms, Wheeler closed his eyes tightly and threw all his strength against the window, Linka, Toby and the others all watched, their breath hitched in their throats "Come on Wheeler and Ma-Ti you can both do it!" Linka encouraged.

The pressure continued to build, Ma-Ti struggled to hold the handle in, his fingers becoming sore, but he refused to let go; Wheeler suddenly slammed his shoulder against the window "Come on, open up already, we haven't got all day!" Another loud crackle of lightening caused them all to jump, the Geo-Cruiser groaned loudly, threatening to give way. Beads of sweat ran down Wheeler's face, stepping back he narrowed his sky blue eyes and threw his shoulder against the window once again; gritting his teeth he cried "Come on!" With a large creak the Geo-Cruiser slid unstably forwards, the unexpected movement caused Wheeler to lose his balance and topple backwards "Ahh!" Kwame gripped the back of his seat, trying not to put all his weight forwards, any minute now the Geo-Cruiser would fall "Hurry Wheeler!" Gi had called, shaking his head and getting back to his feet, the teen got quickly back to his feet "Alrighty, I don't have time for this!" Charging forwards, with all his might as the pressure reached breaking point; Wheeler slammed all his weight into the window, finally the entire window burst out, the foamy substance of the fire extinguisher sprayed in all directions, as the window hit the rocky earth it cracked in a number of places.

Shoulder throbbing rather painfully from throwing it against the glass; Wheeler made a motion of his hand at the others "Well what are ya all waitin for, move come on let's get outta here!" Kwame and Gi both slowly stood up and carefully made their way towards the back, their movements were delicate to the Geo-Cruiser; any sudden or wrong move would spell disaster for them all, as he passed his fiery friend, Kwame complimented "Well done my friend, you and Ma-Ti really pulled through!" Though he was flattered, Wheeler shrugged the compliment off "Yeah, yeah congratulate us AFTER we get outta here!" Kwame and Gi carefully climbed out of the back window, Ma-Ti soon followed after them.

Turning his attention to Linka and Toby; Wheeler held out his hand to the beautiful Russian blond "You next babe, you too little buddy we're getting out of here!" Carefully Linka set Toby down and took him by the hand "Come on, do not be afraid, we'll be fine." She led the small boy forward after taking Wheeler by the hand, even though that wasn't the time, she couldn't help but compliment him "Wheeler, you have really saved us all this time" Giving her a grin, Wheeler pulled Linka over towards the window, he did not let go of her hand as she jumped down out of the Geo-Cruiser, followed closely by Toby, who was very relieved to have his feet on solid ground; His green eyes peered up at Wheeler as he spoke "No worries babe, I told ya I could always impress you one way or another!" The fire bearer gave her a wink, then used his free hand to give little Toby the thumbs up.

Linka couldn't help but smile; she had been about to say something else, but was forced to a halt when the Geo-Cruiser groaned loudly and once again began to slide forwards, chunks of rock began to crumble and fall away from the edge of the cliff ledge "Wheeler, hurry get out of there!" Kwame called to his friend, turning his sky blue eyes over towards Kwame, Wheeler then gazed towards the cliff realising what was happening "Uh oh, time to move!" Stepping forwards, while still gripping Linka's hand he had gone to leap down but the Geo-Cruiser slid swiftly forwards, like before it knocked the red-headed teen off balance, the force caused his hand to slip from Linka's as he fell backwards into the Geo-Cruiser "Whoa!"

Green eyes going wide; Linka moved forwards as their Eco-Friendly aircraft continued to slide forwards "WHEELER!" she gave Toby a shove backwards, so he was out of harm's way, he fell backwards onto the ground, he watched the scene unfold eyes wide, Linka reached the open window her hand outstretched towards Wheeler who was pushing himself back to his feet "Take my hand now!" Slightly dazed from his second fall, Wheeler moved unsteadily forwards, reaching for Linka's hand, the Geo-Cruiser had halted in its movements as Wheeler's fingertips brushed Linka's, there was a blinding flash of lightening and it was in that moment the cliff gave way entirely, sky blue eyes stared into the beautiful green ones, both full of fear "Linka..." Wheeler's words were swamped in pure fear; with one last groan, the Geo-Cruiser slid with the crumbling cliff, Wheeler was forced back once again, out of hands reach. Eyes wide, Linka ran forwards and screamed as the Geo-Cruiser slid and disappeared over the cliff ledge "NO, WHEELER!"

The Wind bearer looked as if she was about to jump off the cliff after the falling aircraft, but a hand had flown out and gripped at her arm, pulling her back "Linka no!" Fighting against the hold, the Russian blond shouted "NYET, LET GO OF ME, I HAVE TO HELP HIM, WHEELER!" Kwame struggled to keep his distraught friend under control, lightening continued to flash, compared to its crackling sound the African teen's voice was merely a whisper "Linka, he is gone..." Turning to stare at her friend, Linka's green eyes were wide; she instantly became enraged that Kwame could ever think such a thing "NYET, HE IS NOT, I'LL USE MY POWERS!" She pointed her ring and shouted "WIND!" nothing happened, heart racing Linka refused to give up "WIND, WIND!" The ring's centre glowed, as if it was trying to obey but the pollution for the lightening storm prevented the powers from releasing.

Staring at her ring, as if hoping it would magically burst to life with a large tornado and save the Geo-Cruiser from its fall, Linka felt the strength go in her and she fell to her knees, eyes still wide and now swimming with tears she cried "NO! NO! OH WHEELER!" Everything had happened so fast, it wasn't until now that the realisation dawned upon the other Planeteers; falling to her own knees, Gi just stared, wide-eyed at the broken cliff face where the Geo-Cruiser had been only moments before "No...Not Wheeler..." Ma-Ti, face pale stared with a shocked expression, Suchi had leapt down from Ma-Ti's shoulder and scurried over towards what was left of the ledge and peered over it, his furry little faces expression became saddened and he cried out, his monkey like sounds echoing, bouncing off the rocks that surrounded the cliff area.

Toby had not moved from where he had landed after Linka had pushed him back out of the way; green eyes wide, his small hand gripped at the rings around his neck, a bluish glow shone through his fingers, before dimming entirely like nothing had happened; Shivering from head to foot, the six-year-old had pushed himself to his feet, he made his way slowly over to the group; Linka was now being embraced by Kwame, tears streaming down her face, her voice breaking "No...He cannot be gone!" Gripping at the front of his T-shirt, Toby stopped just behind Kwame, his eyes focused on the cliff ledge "Wheeler..." his voice was small but full of pure fear "No..." Heart hammering painfully against his rib cage, Toby felt his eyes stinging then the tears fell, closing his eyes tightly "WHEELER!" the six-year-old shouted, but it was drowned out by the lightening that was still raging above them, wind had picked up, howling and whistling as it passed through the gaps and holes that littered most of the rocky scenery.

Shivering from head to foot; Toby allowed his head to drop so his face was hidden from view, there was just no way he could be gone, to the small child it seemed impossible. Suddenly a warm hand had come to rest upon his tear-stained cheek, jumping a little, Toby looked up and through his blurry vision he could see Linka staring at him, tears streaming down her beautiful face. Biting his bottom lip, Toby let out a cry and threw himself into her arms, Gi, Ma-Ti and Suchi had joined Linka, Kwame and Toby, arms wrapping around one another the remaining friends comforted one another, but the warmth from each of their embraces was not enough to melt the shock and heartache that was gripping at them all; Wheeler was gone, there was no way he could've survived that fall, it would take a miracle for any human to survive the impact, a friend was lost and none of them had been able to do anything, they had been powerless to stop the Geo-Cruiser from falling.

As the sobs from the others filled her ears, Linka couldn't get the image of the look Wheeler had held on his face before he went over the cliff; that expression...it was haunting out of her mind, she bit her bottom lip hard she just couldn't believe it, Wheeler was not gone, he just couldn't be. Her thoughts were interrupted by Kwame "My friends...we cannot stay here, we must move on." The Earth bearer raised his hand to wipe away his tears, Ma-Ti sobbed "Where can we possibly go...how can we just leave...?" Gi tried to stop the flow of her tears, she wiped them away violently "...Kwame is right; we have to find a way off this mountain..."

Toby continued to cling to Linka, opening his eyes which were glazed he peered around the area, it defiantly was a mountain they were on because of the lightening storm and the smog that was surrounding the mountain, it appeared to be impossible to know which way would take them down. "How, where are we even supposed to start?" he asked, Gi bent down and placed a shaking hand gently upon Toby's shoulder "We'll find a way...I'm sure." Turning his brown eyes upwards, Kwame noticed that the lightening storm seemed to be getting closer "We must move, come on my friends..." Without another word, the Planeteer leader moved forwards but took one glance back at the cliff face, eyes shining with tears as he tore his gaze away "There is no point in us staying here..."

These words hit Linka like a kick to the stomach, she felt angry and upset that Kwame was not taking this in a more emotional way, before she could stop herself the words rolled from her tongue "How dare you say that...how can you say that!" Keeping Toby close to her, she turned her green eyes to Kwame, angry tears falling "How can you be so heartless, Wheeler he...he's..." The Russian blond was unable to finish her sentence without her voice breaking, she closed her eyes tightly, the tears refusing to stop, and the pain she felt was just unbearable she didn't understand how Kwame could suddenly be so calm.

Feeling a hand come to rest upon her trembling shoulder; Linka turned her attention to Gi, who looked just as upset as what she was "Linka...Kwame is right, we can't stay here, the storm is growing nearer we'll end up being caught in the cross fire if we remain here, we must move on...Wheeler would want us too." Gi's words held truth, they had to move on, otherwise their own lives would be at stake; dropping her eyes to the ground, Linka let out a sob before nodding. Ma-Ti was hugging Suchi, even though he was an animal, he seemed just as effected as what the others were "Gi...you are right, let us move on, for Wheeler's sake..." Hugging Linka for a moment, Gi then followed after Kwame who had said no more, Ma-Ti wasn't far behind.

The wind whipped across the open area; causing Linka's beautiful blond hair to blow to one side; for a long moment she just stared longingly at the cliff ledge, if only she had reached that little bit further, she would've been able to pull Wheeler out of the Geo-Cruiser and they would all be together, complimenting their beloved friend on how smart his idea had been. Wiping at her eyes, even though it was hopeless; Linka then placed her hands up under Toby's arms and picked him up, holding him close "W-we must go little one..." her voice continued to crack; Biting his bottom lip, Toby wrapped his arms up around Linka's neck, focusing his eyes upon the very the spot the Geo-Cruiser and Wheeler had been, tears rolled down his cheeks before he hid his face upon Linka's shoulder, as the group of distraught friends pushed forwards. The shock was weighing down on all of them, but they had to keep going, they had to find a way down from the mountain, in spite of the heartache they were all feeling.


	6. Chapter Six: Toby's Words and Awakening

**A/N: Chapter six has arrived! I'm happy I didn't take as long to write this one out as I did with the fifth; anyway this is the longest chapter I have written for this fan fic so far, I apologise if it lags on in certain parts, but I had to build up for what was coming. Here in this chapter, the elemental spirit of fire 'Nootau' will come a little more out of the shadows. I really do hope those who have been following my story so far will find this chapter worth the read, so please do let me know on what it is you think, I enjoy getting reviews, so enjoy the chapter!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Captain Planet, the characters are the property of Ted Turner & Hanna Barbera, and I own only Toby and Nootau.

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The mission in hopes of finding a way down from the top of the mountain was proving to be a lot more complicated; the Planeteers really didn't have that good of a sense of direction at that moment, Kwame was in the lead, but the further they went down the steeper and unstable the earth below their feet became.

Eventually the Earth bearer came to an abrupt halt, his deep brown eyes scanned the path that lay in front of him, the distant sound of falling pieces of rock echoed around the weary group. Closing his eyes Kwame then spoke "My friends, we have a problem" Gi had stepped forwards, standing alongside her African team mate, she narrowed her eyes staring up a head where Kwame had been looking "Oh no...There is no way we could continue on this way, the ground is so unstable we could end up being caught in a rock slide!"

Ma-Ti stood beside Linka, a look of hopelessness in his hazel eyes "If we cannot go this way, then which way is there left to go, back the way we came?" The Heart bearer began to look around, trying to seek out another pathway they could take; a flash of lightening caused Suchi to jump and screech loudly, his eyes large and full of fear as he scurried down from Ma-Ti's shoulder and tried to hide within his jacket.

A purplish glow lit up the entire area, as the polluted storm raged above for a few split seconds it gave enough light and it was Toby who caught sight of another pathway off to the far right, as he peered over Linka's shoulder; Shifting his weight a little in her arms, he then raised a hand and pointed "Look, over there I saw another path we could take!" Turning their heads to look where Toby was pointing, another flash of lightening convinced the others that their youngest friend had defiantly found another way, it was rather narrow and hard to see since it was well hidden in the shadows of two towering rocks that fell together half way up, the gap towards the bottom where the pathway ran through made it appear as if they would all be travelling through a cave.

Linka, though her green eyes were glazed and her heart aching she peered at Toby who stared right back; it wasn't until that moment did she realise just how much the little boy resembled Wheeler, the same sort of face, nose everything...the only thing that appeared to be different was the fact that Toby had green eyes, much like her own. Brow moving in to a sad sort of expression, the Russian blond found her thoughts replaying that last memory over again...the last look, the most fearful look she had ever seen Wheeler give her, before he disappeared over the cliff face.

"Wheeler..." Kwame, Gi and Ma-Ti placed their attention upon the wind bearer, the tone in her voice was enough to tell them that fresh tears had begun falling; shoulders trembling, and unable to hold back the pain that had been threatening to overtake her once again, since the moment Wheeler had gone over that cliff, Linka fell to her knees, Toby still within her arms he blinked many times as he felt her arms wrap tightly around him. Her sobs played on his own emotions like a white hot knife cutting at the depths of his heart in a painful manner.

Kwame and Ma-Ti exchanged looks of sadness, Gi had approached Linka, kneeling down in front of her "Linka...I know how upsetting all this is, I'm feeling it too but we cannot give up, we must find a way off this mountain, after all if Wheeler were here...he'd be telling us to not go giving up, no matter how sticky and hopeless the situation is."  
Ma-Ti had stepped forwards, a look of deep sadness plastered across his features "Linka, you are in so much pain...I can feel your emotions, you miss Wheeler and just want to give up on everything...but that is something that he would not allow, we must keep moving Linka, please..."

With a sob escaping her, Linka looked at Gi, before turning her tear stricken face to Ma-Ti "Nyet...what is the point, Wheeler is gone...without him..." She was unable to finish her sentence, without Wheeler, Linka felt as if her life was coming to an abrupt halt, like she was losing every reason to keep on going, no matter how hard she tried to hold onto her reasons they were slipping through her fingers and it was becoming difficult to stop them from disappearing all together.

The others all exchanged looks of sorrow; they were all missing Wheeler but it was Linka who was being affected by the loss the most, and it was not a question why; For the longest time, the moment they had all become Planeteers and Wheeler had commented flirtatiously upon Linka's Russian accent, a connection was suddenly strung between them, one that would only grow stronger and stronger over time, until it developed into the most powerful emotion of all; Love, that was the exact path both their hearts had taken together.

What had recently happened to Wheeler, was changing Linka without him it was like she couldn't function properly; The others could see the change and it frightened them, they were powerless to do anything to soothe Linka's pain, but all hope didn't vanish on the spot; Toby had been silent this entire time, leaning back so he could look Linka in the eyes he raised his small hands and placed them on the sides of her face, his voice trying its best to sound reassuring "Hey it'll be ok, we'll find a way off this stinky mountain, and Wheeler is alright, he just has to be!"

Focusing her tear-filled eyes as best she could on Toby, Linka felt another jolt of pain grip at her heart, this gorgeous little boy seemed so sure that Wheeler was still alive, she gave him a sad little smile _'He is so young, I do not think he fully understands that without some miracle, there was just no way Wheeler could've survived...' _Toby must of been able to sense that Linka didn't believe him, he frowned looking her deep within the eyes "He is ok...I just know it!" in that precise moment the six-year-olds thoughts travelled back to the moment Wheeler had gone over that cliff with the Geo-Cruiser and the fact that the ring of Wind had glowed at the same time _'When he fell...the wind ring started glowing, I wonder if maybe Tuuli...' _Moving one hand off Linka's face, he reached it down to clasp at the precious powers that were hanging around his neck.

For the longest moment, Linka and the others all stared at Toby before Gi spoke, interrupting the child's thoughts "Well...either way we really should keep on moving, we still need to put distance between us and that storm." Kwame casted his gaze skywards at the swirling, darkened clouds that stared menacingly back "Gi is right, we must move on my friends; let us take the path that Toby has found." Though she was emotionally drained, Linka nodded "Da, we must continue on." With a nod back, Kwame then made his way towards the newly found pathway, followed closely by Gi and Ma-Ti.

Watching her other team mates move on a head; Linka turned her attention back on Toby when she heard his voice "He IS ok...you've gotta believe me!" The serious look within the depths of his green eyes swayed Linka's belief; something was beginning to tell her that Toby could very well be right, a glimmer of hope was still alive in her heart. Raising her hand to brush the remaining tears away, Linka then rested it gently upon the side of Toby's cheek, her green eyes searching his own, as if she was trying to make sure that he himself was absolutely sure of the words he had been speaking "Toby, how can you be sure?" Staring straight back, his green eyes trembled a little as he replied "My Daddy, he always told me that you should never lose hope, until you know for sure it's impossible."

Hearing such words from someone so young, hit Linka hard with admiration and what she knew to be a Motherly affection, through the sadness that was held within her eyes a proud glimmer was defiantly visible "Oh Toby, you've been taught well by your parents, and...Your Father is correct; whoever he is he is good to you." With a gentle, shy smile falling across his lips, Toby nodded his head, it was in the truth of those words that he knew for sure that Wheeler had survived and was probably looking for them all at this very moment, they would all reunite, Toby just knew it.

Ma-Ti calling them brought Linka's gaze away from Toby "Da, we are coming Ma-Ti" sharing a hug with him, Linka held Toby close as she got to her feet, "Come on, we best catch up with the others." With a new found hope dawning within her, Linka pressed on with the others her gaze travelled upwards as she passed under the large rocks that fell against each other. Toby was awe struck at just how big they were "Wow, those have got to be the biggest rocks I've ever seen!" His voice carried over to the others, Ma-Ti turned his head to look at their curious friend "They are very big, it is rare to see rocks come together like that, I wouldn't be surprised if they were made by spirits many, many years ago to protect this pathway."

Eyes going wide at the mention of 'Spirits' Toby felt his curiosity grow "Whoa really, then they must be REALLY old spirits then, a zillion years for sure!" Linka couldn't help but smile; she shook her head "Nyet, maybe not this 'zillion' as you speak of Toby, if I had to guess I would have to say two-hundred-thousand years perhaps." Tilting his head to one side, Toby questioned "Really, but how can you tell?" Smiling and raising a hand to press against the rough surface of one of the rocks, Linka traced her fingers over the curves, holes and patterns that covered the rocky surface "I can tell by how deep these markings are each one can give you a year on how long these rocks have been here."

Gawking at the different patterns upon the rocks, Toby replied "Wow, now there is something I didn't know!" Linka smiled gently once more, she turned her gaze skywards as the sound of the lightening appeared as if it was getting closer, frowning deeply she looked to the others "Bozhe moy, I really do think that storm is following us!" The others all took note of the how close the crashing sounds of lightening were; frowning Kwame suggested "We really should continue on, let us hope that this path will take down the mountain and not anywhere else." As he led the way through the rock arch, he saw that the pathway was much more zig zaggy and steep but it was at least stable and smooth for them to tred foot on.

"Well it looks like we may find a way off this mountain soon enough my friends." Ma-Ti said hopefully, coming up behind the others Linka peered past them at the mountain pathway that stretched out in front of them, instinctively she held Toby closer to her within her arms; A nervous sort of look spreading across her beautiful face "Are you sure that it is safe enough?" Hearing the uncertainty in her voice, Gi replied "Don't worry Linka, this way does appear to be much more safer than the last, besides we have no choice but to take a risk here, otherwise we could be stuck up on this mountain for who knows how long, with the Geo-Cruiser gone..." The water Planeteer stopped in her sentence, her eyes becoming somewhat clouded as Wheeler crossed her mind.

The tension in the atmosphere had picked up once again between the group of friends; Linka was gazing down at seemingly nothing, but it was her voice that swept over the others "We must keep going; this is no time to stop..." Stepping forwards, the Russian Planeteer took the lead, a rather eerie breeze had picked up, ruffling her blond hair. Shifting Toby in her arms, Linka had her green eyes fixated on the mountain pathway a head, her own thoughts travelling back on Wheeler, although she really hadn't stopped thinking about him this entire time _'Wheeler, if you are alright...we'll find you, I am not leaving this mountain until I know for sure, but please, please be alright Yankee!' _

Toby making a shifting motion knocked Linka back out of her thoughts; she looked at him as he showed signs of wanting to get down "I think I'll walk." Linka furrowed her brow, she felt slightly unnerved about letting a six-year-old walk along with them across a mountain pathway, no matter how safe it appeared, danger could lurk anywhere and it wouldn't take much, one wrong step and Toby could slip and fall. Seeing her hesitation to put him down, Toby frowned just slightly "I'll be ok, don't worry." Though she was still hesitant, Linka nodded "Alright...but please stay close, and do not let go of my hand." Placing Toby on his feet in front of her, the wind bearer held out her hand to him, reaching out his own small hand it fitted perfectly in Linka's.

The Planeteers cautiously made their way along the winding path, Toby had done a good job at seeking it out, it wasn't nearly as rocky and unstable as the last, but even so none of them could afford to let their guard down. Curiously Toby allowed his eyes to wander as they walked, he turned them upwards and flinched when lightening crackled in more than one place in the sky, he stepped sideways so he was closer to Linka, a look of concern crossing his face "I wish that storm would go away...its scary!" Linka let go of Toby's hand and rested her arm around his small shoulders, her other hand taking his once more as she pulled him close to her "Do not worry, you are safe with me, hopefully we'll find shelter soon."

Having travelled only a short way, over the sounds of the storm which were becoming quite regular now, the sudden sound of an engine above managed to drown out the storms raging blows that tore at the darkened sky. All the Planeteers stopped in their tracks, their sights set skywards as they tried to sought out which way the sound was coming from "That sounds like an aircraft" Ma-Ti said "But I have no idea which direction it's coming from." They didn't have to wait long, the sounds of the approaching aircraft grew louder but all the hopes of the Planeteers of maybe finding a way off the mountain came crashing down when the aircraft the engine belonged too came into view, it was a large aircraft in the shape of what looked to be a pig.

Hovering in mid-air, the aircraft came to a halt and a piggish like voice blared over a microphone "Well, well look what we have here Rigger, it's those meddling Eco-brats!" Narrowing her green eyes in disgust, Linka called "Oh no, it's Greedily!" Poking his fat head out of the side window of his aircraft, Greedily smirked widely, revealing sharp canines "You got that right blondie, there's no way I'm passing up this opportunity to capture all you brats either!" Rigger sat beside Greedily, he had started counting the Planeteers, before scratching the side of his head in confusion "Hey...there are five of those Planetpunks, but ones missing, yip yip!"

Narrowing his eyes, Greedily took note of the group of Planeteers, his devilish gaze falling upon the child that was accompany the group "Hey...who's the little brat I wonder, and where the heck is that Fire ring Planeteer?" Rigger grinned showing his buck teeth before suggesting "Maybe he ditched them, yip, yip." Raising a fat fist and whacking his sidekick over the head, Greedily snorted "Don't be stupid Rigger, Dr Blight would turn sane before that happened!" He sneered down at the Planeteers, smirking "Heh, judging by the looks on their faces, I'd say something happened to that kid, which makes it all the more easier for us Rigger!" Frowning in confusion, Rigger stupidly replied "Oh, how boss, how?" Letting out another snort and becoming impatient, Greedily answered "How dumb are you Rigger, without that fiery brat, they can't call Captain Planet!"

While they're enemies were too busy chit chatting, the Planeteers had silently slipped away, disappearing around a sharp bend, and Toby peered upwards "So that's what that fattso looks like here..." Linka frowned a little at the child's words, but before she could respond Kwame said "We must find somewhere to hide." Gi had been silent; she then stopped in her tracks as an idea struck her "Wait, I've got a better idea." Stopping, the others all looked at her, Linka questioning "What is it Gi?" Raising an eye brow, the water bearer responded "As crazy as this is going to sound, but I think we should let Greedily capture us!" Exchanging looks, the others were slightly lost on why they should allow such a thing, seeing their confusion Gi continued "Well for starters, we'll probably be taken somewhere out of range of the storm, if that happens then our rings will work again!"

Ma-Ti blinked and then thought about it for a moment, before he spoke "Gi does have a very good point my friends, I think we should try it." Kwame nodded in agreement "I agree, but...even if our powers work, without Wheeler we will not be able to call Captain Planet if we run into a lot of trouble." Linka lowered her gaze, it was true without Wheeler Captain Planet could not be summoned from the earth, and even if their powers worked they would have a limited use, for fire always played a vital part when it came to escaping from holds that involved metal.

"I think we should try!" Toby's voice brought Linka from her thoughts, she peered down at him as he looked up at her and then to the others "Let Greedily catch us, if fire power turns out to be what we need, I could always try this!" He grabbed a hold of the two rings around his neck, pointing out the fire one "I'm not sure if I can use their powers, but I guess there is only one way to find out!" Toby had been about to try and see if he could control the fire ring that he had, but was interrupted when Greedily's aircraft came moving swiftly around the other side of the mountain, his voice falling out over the microphone "Not so fast you Planetpunks, you're not getting away that easily!"

The Planeteers looked at each other and just nodded, the decision to allow themselves to be captured had been decided, turning to them Kwame said "Alright my friends, we will follow through with Gi's plan, but try not to make it too obvious that we want to be caught, otherwise Greedily may become suspicious." Stepping forwards, Linka nodded "Da, let us use our rings, we can pretend we don't already know that they are not working!"

Aiming her ring towards Greedily's aircraft, Linka shouted "Nyet, do not think you can catch us so easily Greedily, wind!" Just like before, the centre of her ring glowed, before dimming and dying away entirely, pretending to not know what was going on, the Russian blond stared at her ring "My ring, it's not working!" Stepping to stand beside her teammate Gi said "Let me try, Water!" Greedily grinned broadly and laughed "Looks like you Planeteers are out of luck!" Leaning forwards, he reached over a hand and slammed his fist down upon a large blue button, an opening just below the aircraft opened up and with a loud bang a large net was released, and it hurled towards the Planeteers and instantly trapped them in a heap on the rocky pathway.

The group of friends struggled within their trapped position, Greedily snorted and laughed "Now that was just too easy, let's bring those brats up!" Directing the airship down closer to the ground, the loud roaring and strength of the engine stirred up dust around the Planeteers, pressing another button a large robotic arm descended from inside the hold of the airship and gripped at the net and hauled it up inside the airship, the automatic doors shutting tight behind them. The Planeteers were dropped roughly upon the hard surface of airships floor, Greedily; follow closely by Rigger made his way down the steps that led up to the Pilot's space. Resting his fists upon his hips, Greedily sniggered down at the trapped group of friends "I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge in catching you pests, but I guess the easier the better, Rigger let's lock them up!"

"Sure thing boss" Rigger moved forwards and using a pocket knife that he had stashed away in his jeans, the rather dopey sidekick started cutting the net away from the Planeteers, before they could even attempt to make move and get away, Greedily grabbed a hold of the backs of their shirts and forced them to stand. Snorting he grinned "Without the use of your rings, you Planet meddlers are hopeless!" Marching the four struggling Planeteers off towards a separate room, Greedily peered back over his shoulder and ordered "Rigger, you take care of that other little brat, we can't afford to let any of them get away, Planeteer or not!" Toby had been the only one that Greedily hadn't grabbed, the six-year-old struggled to untangle himself from the net, as he called out to Greedily "Hey, let them go you fat pig!"

Outstretching his hands towards the boy, Rigger grinned "Hey keep your mouth shut you brat!" Toby made an attempt to escape, but Rigger roughly grabbed him by the arms and forced him in the same direction Greedily had taken the others, but the six-year-old wasn't going to go without a fight, he struggled against Rigger, trying to kick and punch at him, even though his arms were restrained in Rigger's hold "Hey, stop squirming you little savage!" Toby narrowed his green eyes and shouted "NO, you let go of me you buck-toothed weirdo!" Greedily had unlocked one of the jail cells, roughly he shoved the four Planeteers inside "That should hold you Eco-punks for a while!"

Hitting the hard floor of the jail cell, Linka was the first to get back to her feet she turned and ran forwards, but Greedily had slammed the cells barred door shut and locked it "I don't think so blondie, I don't want no trouble from you!" Gripping at the bars, Linka narrowed her eyes and demanded "Nyet, give Toby to me now!" Smirking widely and moving his pig like face closer to the bars, Greedily just snorted "No way, I'm keeping that little brat in a separate hold from you losers!" Turning to Rigger who was still struggling with the child, Greedily ordered "Stop messing around Rigger, get that little brat in a cell, hurry up!" Lifting Toby up off the ground and holding him at arm's length since he was kicking and struggling around, Rigger responded "I'm trying boss, I'm trying, but the little pest won't keep still!"

Losing his patience, Greedily narrowed his eyes and stormed forwards "You worthless idiot, do I have to do everything myself!" Grabbing Toby by the back of his collar he ripped him from Rigger's hands and held him up to eye level, letting him dangle there "You listen here you little brat, I don't have time to deal with babies like you, so unless you wanna become a guinea pig for Blight's insane experiments, I suggest ya stop squirming around and behave yourself!" Linka pulled at the bars of the jail cell, her heart racing as she spat in Greedily's direction "Don't you DARE hurt him; I will make you pay if you do!"

Snorting, Greedily responded "Shut ya mouth Planeteer, you can't do nothing behind those bars!" Toby struggled as Greedily made his way over to the cell next to the one the Planeteers were occupying, he unlocked it and sneered at the six-year-old "Now behave yourself brat!" With that he roughly tossed Toby inside, causing him to land flat on his stomach on the stony floor, slamming the door shut and locking it, Greedily had a triumphant sort of expression on his face "Now you all shut up and no funny business!" Laughing and snorting loudly him and Rigger left the room and headed back to the pilot section, taking a seat Greedily set a course for Eastern Africa "Once we get those Eco-brats to Dr Blight, our work will be done!" Buckling himself in his own seat, Rigger then questioned "That's all well and good boss, but shouldn't we scout the area just to make sure that pyro Planetpunk is hiding somewhere?" Greedily snorted as he started up the aircraft "I already told ya idiot that Wheeler kid is finished, it's obvious that something happened to him, good riddens I say he ruined our plans one too many times in the past!"

Back in the Jail cell room, the Planeteers started to think that maybe allowing Greedily to capture them was not such a good idea after all, slightly dazed from being pushed to the ground Ma-Ti was the first to speak "My friends, I think we may have gotten ourselves in hot water here, maybe allowing us to be captured on purpose was a bad idea." Suchi screeched from his master's shoulder, Gi was quite ready to quit just yet "Wait, Greedily mentioned Dr Blight, it's possible he may be working with her and if I'm right, we'll get to Eastern Africa, that's where we were headed to begin with before that lightening storm hit." Kwame nodded "Gi is right, in spite of what has happened, we still must try and complete the Eco-mission."

Linka had not joined the others in their conversation, she had moved over to the side of the cell, resting her hands on the bars that separated her from Toby "Toby, are you alright?" her voice was full of concern as the six-year-old pushed himself to his knees, dazed by the fall he rubbed at his stomach, having been winded and then made his way over to his side of the cell, he rested his hands on the bars and nodded "Yeah...I'm ok, but now we're all stuck in here!" Slipping her hand through the bars, Linka placed her hand gently upon Toby's cheek as she tried to reassure him "Shh, it's alright sweetie, we'll find some way out of this mess, once we get further enough away from that lightening storm, and our rings should work."

Dropping his gaze, Toby then admitted "But...if we get taken all the way to Eastern Africa, then how is Wheeler going to be able to find us?" Blinking, Linka just stared at the little boy before her she casted her own gaze down for a moment, a small but sad smile crossing her lips "He'll...find us, that Yankee always has his ways of doing what seems to be the impossible." The others were silent for a moment, and just when they all believed for sure this time that Wheeler was indeed gone forever, Toby was suddenly struck with an idea, one that they all should have thought of before "Wait, Ma-Ti, you could use your heart power to get in contact with Wheeler right!"

Blinking many times, Ma-Ti's eyes suddenly went wide, he slapped his forehead "Why of course, my ring is never really affected by pollution, if only I had of thought of that earlier!" Kwame looked uncertain "It is a great idea but...the African Planeteer was unable to finish his sentence, since Linka cut across him "Nyet, do not say it Kwame, we do not know for sure!" Still with her hand resting upon Toby's cheek, she focused her green eyes upon Ma-Ti "Please, at least try...that way we can know for sure or not if he is..." Once again Linka was unable to finish her words; she closed her eyes and shook her head "Please Ma-Ti, just try..."

Looking round at them all, Ma-Ti looked uncertain but he then nodded "Alright, I will try..." Taking a deep breath, he raised his ring hand to his head and rested it upon his forehead; closing his hazel eyes and concentrating he then commanded "Heart!" Gold like waves suddenly emitted from the centre of his ring and pulsated throughout the atmosphere, an image of where the Geo-Cruiser had landed after it fell off the cliff face appeared before Ma-Ti's closed eyes, the sight of the bent and destroyed parts of the Eco-friendly aircraft caused him to cringe at how bad the wreckage was, everyone else held their breathes as he spoke "I can see the Geo-Cruiser, it landed at the bottom of a gorge, but I cannot see Wheeler anywhere!" The image within Ma-Ti's mind shifted, zooming in on a certain part of the earth floor of the gorge, revealing unusual footprints "There are strange footprints, I have no idea what they are from, I've never seen anything like it." Linka blinked "Strange footprints, but what about Wheeler, can you see him at all Ma-Ti?"

Concentrating even more, Ma-Ti tried to search for Wheeler so he could get into his thoughts "I-I am trying, there is something there, but something else is blocking me from going any further." Once Ma-Ti lowered his hand, they all looked at one another a spark of hope appeared to return to all their eyes "Even though you couldn't see him, you could sense something there, which means...Toby finished Gi's response "Wheeler is still alive, see I told you he was I knew it!" Linka closed her deep green eyes, a feeling of great relief washing over her entire being, it felt as if something heavy had been lifted off her shoulders "Oh Wheeler, thank goodness!"

"This is a big relief, if only we had a way of being able to pin point exactly where he is that way we'll be able to call Captain Planet!" Kwame thought out loud "But how exactly are we going to do that, without Ma-Ti being able to get in contact with Wheeler directly, it makes it very difficult for us to tell him where we are." Toby bit his bottom lip, his own thoughts were not on how they were going to find Wheeler, but on what Ma-Ti had said about the strange footprints he had seen; his mind started to work its clocks rather swiftly _'Ma-Ti said he saw strange footprints down in the gorge, I can't help but wonder...' _

Gi let out a sigh "By the time our rings will be functional again, we'll probably be almost in Eastern Africa, if Wheeler isn't hurt he may realise that we continued to Eastern Africa, we can only hope that is where he'll end up coming, once he finds out we are no longer on the mountain." Linka nodded "Da, the Geo-Cruiser is gone so he will be unable to follow us that way, but I know he will pull through!" For now there wasn't a whole lot that the Planeteers could do but hope against hope that Wheeler was indeed alright and he would find them, after all when things were really bad he had never let them down yet.

The lightening storm was fiercer in the gorge, it roared loudly in all directions lighting up rock formations that were scattered all over the open area. Smoke was silently rising and swirling in mid air from the remains of the Geo-Cruiser, its wings were completely gone and the entire front of the aircraft was smashed to pieces, shards of solo panelled glass were littering the ground, glistening for a split second as the lightening continued to brighten and dim in the darkened sky, the clouds showed no sign of dispersing anytime soon.

Much further along the endless gorge, sheltered upon a nearby cliff ledge that opened somewhat into a small cave, was Wheeler's unconscious form, his arms had scratches and cuts that had obviously been formed from the fall, and a rather deep gash was visible upon the right side of his face. In spite of the roughed up appearance, Wheeler was breathing a large clap of lightening hitting the floor of the gorge was enough to stir the American teen from his slumber. Groaning, sky blue eyes slowly opened and Wheeler was greeted with blurry vision and a stinging sensation from the wounds he had received from the fall.

Slowly Wheeler pushed himself up into a sitting position, feeling dazed and somewhat dizzy, raising a hand to rest upon the side of his forehead; Wheeler closed his sky blue eyes "Man...What on earth happened?" For a moment or two, the red-headed teens mind was blank, and then suddenly all at once it came rushing back to him, the Eco-mission, the storm, the crash and the Geo-Cruiser falling off the cliff face. Eyes flying back open into a wide expression, Wheeler let out a gasp "Oh no, the Geo-Cruiser I fell with it!" Knowing he had no time to waste, Wheeler made his way out of the mouth of the cave and looked around, rather panicked on how long he had been unconscious for.

Wincing just a little, Wheeler climbed down from the ledge he had woken up on, the moment his feet hit the ground he looked around, his sky blue eyes trying to figure out where exactly he was, they soon sought out the remains of the Geo-Cruiser much further along the gorge; Upon seeing this Wheeler allowed a look of confusion to cross his features "Huh, what the...if the Geo-Cruiser crashed over there, then how did I end up on the cliff ledge?" He looked from the Geo-Cruiser back to the cliff ledge he had climbed down from, in the midst of the flashing lightening it lit up the side of the ledge and Wheeler caught side of markings embedded into the tough rock; brow furrowing he stepped forwards to get a closer look, it looked as if something with really sharp talons or something had climbed up the side of the ledge at one point, to Wheeler they looked fresh but he had no idea what possibly could've made them.

Raising a hand to rub the back of his head; Wheeler then dropped his hand back to his side, his eyes trailing down the ledge, further down there were more deep claw marks but what really caught the American Planeteers attention was the footprints imprinted in the muddy earth that surrounded the ledge, kneeling down Wheeler stared at the prints they were defiantly unusual, they had three toes that ended in razor sharp talons, it appeared to almost be the footprint of some bird but they were way too big to be any sort of bird that Wheeler had ever met. Curiosity growing, he reached out his ring hand and carefully placed it in the indentation of the print, compared to it Wheeler's hand was no bigger than what Toby's would be. Lightning flashed above once again, louder than before causing Wheeler's gaze to tear away from the footprint and peer up into the swirling clouds that polluted the sky "I think it's time to book outta here, that storm is getting too close for comfort!"

Taking one last look at the print, Wheeler then pushed himself back to his feet and examined his surroundings once more, the trouble would be finding a way out of this gorge he had to track down the others and fast. Moving forwards, Wheeler made sure to take note of the footprints that were further along the ground "Man, this is kinda creepy, whatever made these I sure do hope it left ages ago!" Wheeler shook his head, trying to be rid his thoughts of the images of over-sized, terrifying looking, meat eating birds "I gotta stop watching those horror movies before bed I think."

It took Wheeler a good thirty minutes to reach the wreckage of the Geo-Cruiser, stopping in his tracks to examine it, it was now more than ever that he was thanking his lucky stars for surviving the fall in the first place, but there was still no explanation on how he had gotten so far away from it in the first place, his mind seemed to move into overdrive when he realised those footprints actually started here at the crash site. Shaking his head in disbelief Wheeler questioned out loud "Don't tell me whatever it was who made those tracks was the thing that put me on that ledge to begin with!" Not wanting to stick around here any longer, since things were becoming more and more bizarre Wheeler gave the sad sight of the ruined Geo-Cruiser one last look before moving on, all the while he muttered away to himself over the sounds of the storm "Ok, this is no time to go panicking here, I need to find a way outta this gorge and track the others down...I just hope they're alright."

Continuing on, Wheeler didn't let his guard down once but he couldn't help but let his mind wander back to the last moment he had seen Linka, the look in her eyes, the fear of losing him that he had seen on her face caused chills to run down Wheeler's spine, that look would defiantly haunt him on his search for the others. It didn't take as long as Wheeler had expected, in just over an hour his sky blue eyes finally caught sight of the rift that led to and from the gorge, breaking into a run wanting to get out of that place as quickly as he could, Wheeler passed through the rift, turning his eyes skywards an eerie and chilly breeze whisked its way through the gap of the gorge, causing the hairs on the back of Wheeler's neck to stand on end, he came to a halt once he found his way out of the gorge entrance, breathing rather heavily he peered back over his shoulder "Man, am I glad to be outta there, it gave me the creeps and those footprints...I really, really don't wanna run into whatever made them!"

Tearing his gaze from the gorge he had now left behind, Wheeler spotted that he had come to the start of a rocky and a very unstable looking mountain pathway, in truth the American teen had no idea where he was, or even where the pathway would lead but he really had no choice but to take it, either that or go back the way he came, and Wheeler defiantly wasn't in the mood to run into the thing that made those footprints. "Well...this just keeps getting better and better." Knowing there wasn't even a point on complaining about the steep and unstable mountain pathway, carefully Wheeler began his journey up the sloping path, his shoes slipped every now and again on loose earth but he did manage to keep his balance; Breathing heavily after climbing for at least twenty minutes, Wheeler had no choice but to stop, resting his hands on his knees to catch his breath, he then peered over his shoulder at how far he had walked already "This is just crazy, the others would be way ahead of me!"

Realising he wouldn't be able to find his friends on his own like this, Wheeler was suddenly struck with the idea of getting in contact with Ma-Ti "Time to call the little buddy I think!" Resting his hand upon the side of his head, Wheeler closed his eyes and concentrated as hard as what he could, speaking out loud "Ma-Ti, come on little buddy pick up, its Wheeler!" Back upon board Greedily's airship, Ma-Ti's ring started to glow; noticing it the South American Planeteer carefully held near his head and closed his eyes _'Wheeler, it's really you you're alright!' _As far apart as what they were, Wheeler could hear Ma-Ti's thoughts fine, he replied back through his own thoughts _'Of course it's me, but don't go worrying about that now, where the heck are you guys, I've been trying to track ya down for a while now.' _

The other Planeteers had taken notice of Ma-Ti communicating and Linka couldn't help but ask "Please tell me that it is Wheeler!" keeping his eyes closed, Ma-Ti responded back to their lost teammate _'Greedily captured us all on his airship, we are on our way to Eastern Africa if you hurry you may be able to find a way to board the ship before it leaves this mountain entirely.' _Before Wheeler could respond, the communication he had with Ma-Ti was suddenly cut short "Ma-Ti, hey Ma-Ti, man lost contact!" Lowering his hand to stare at his ring, he frowned "Somethin must be interfering with out communication line...well no time to worry about that now, I gotta find a way to board that pig's airship!" Looking around his surroundings, Wheeler faced towards East "Ok think, if Greedily is heading for Eastern Africa like Ma-Ti said, if I'm lucky enough and they haven't passed through here already, then..." His sky blue eyes suddenly fell on one of the highest ledges that occupied the mountain path that he was currently on, being struck with an idea, a crazy one but an idea all the same, a half smile crossed Wheeler's lips and he moved forwards "Time to climb and hitch a ride!"

Wasting no more time, Wheeler moved swiftly up the mountain path once he got to a certain extent his focused his eyes on nothing but the ledge he was aiming to get too "Ok, well I only have one shot at making it!" Stepping forwards it was only now that the American teen realised that if he failed and missed the ledge he would go on an over one hundred foot drop to the bottom of the mountain, it was a fall that he would defiantly not survive a second time, there was no room for failure, Wheeler's friends were in danger and they needed his help now more than ever. As the lightening storm crashed above, a strong wind had finally picked up, whipping Wheeler's red hair in all directions.

Heart pounding against his rib cage; Wheeler tore his gaze away from the drop and focused them upon the cliff ledge he was planning on jumping across too, he was level with it and would land on it easily if he could first make the jump "Man...This looks a lot harder than what it does in the movies; well it's now or never!" Taking a few steps backwards, Wheeler took a deep breath and then charged forwards, feet pounding the earth the cliff ledge came rushing forwards to meet him, crouching down he then leapt swiftly forwards "Cower bunger!" Wheeler's voice bounced off the mountains in an echo, the moment his feet left solid ground the entire rocky scenery dropped away from him in a swirl of colour; Time itself seemed to slow down, sky blue eyes going wide Wheeler called "H-hey what's going on!"

The centre of Wheeler's ring suddenly flared up in bright orange flames that shot out in a line from behind Wheeler and came flying round to the front before continuing to surround him, travelling down and around him in a spiralling, fiery ring the sound of the flames roared in his ears and the heat was intense, eyes wide and filled with panic Wheeler could only watch, his eyes barely moving to glance at his ring that was flaring out of complete control, the spiral formation of fire continued to blaze around Wheeler's body, with each movement it made it appeared as if it was closing in on the fire bearer's figure "Wait, no STOP!" Wheeler desperately tried to command his ring to stop, but it showed not a single sign in obeying his order.

The roaring and crackling sounds of the flames were suddenly drowned out by a voice that travelled upon the heat filled breeze the fire was causing _"Time to awaken..." _Through the spiralling fire that suddenly came together beneath Wheeler, piercing eyes suddenly appeared and stared right at the American teen, its voice carried on the wind once more _"Wheeler, AWAKEN!" _The eyes shot forwards with the flames, his own eyes going wide as the enclosing flames reflected within them, heart racing and fear encasing him, Wheeler cried out "AHHHH!" Splitting down the middle the flames shot up on either side of the teen before slamming shut, engulfing Wheeler in a raging fiery twister, the sound easily drowning out the lightening storm that still had yet to decease.

Back on board Greedily's airship, the fire ring around Toby's neck was going haywire as well, large amounts of orange, reddish energy were flying in all directions, shocked at what was happening Toby toppled backwards shielding his face away from the energy, since it was shrouded in heat. Frightened that Toby was going to get hurt, Linka cried "Toby, take them off quickly!" Heeding her words, Toby pulled at the silvery chain, causing it to break and quickly he hurled them in the opposite direction, the rings landed on the stone floor and slid across it, disappearing beneath the cell's bed, in spite of being removed from Toby's neck, the energy for the fire ring continued to fly and spark, grazing against the bars of the cell it caused the metal to melt and weaken a little.

Shuffling backwards; Toby moved closer to the bars on the other side of the cell, reaching a hand through, Linka managed to wrap her arm around Toby's shoulders, turning his head away from the out of control ring, Toby closed his eyes tightly and the other Planeteers just watched in utter shock "What on earth is happening to that ring!" Gi called, Ma-Ti shook his head as Suchi screeched and quickly took shelter under the cells bed, frightened by the intense power, it defiantly something that none of them had ever witnessed before.

Toby opened one eye and chanced a glance over at the raging ring, not understanding why it was acting that way "I don't know why it's doing that, I've never seen it before!" From the pilot area, Greedily could hear the sounds of the fiery energy that was escaping the ring; narrowing his eyes he snorted and got to his feet "What are those brats up too, they better not be trying to break loose of those cells!" Setting his airship to Auto pilot, Greedily followed closely by Rigger made their way to the cell hold, slamming the door open Greedily called "What are you Eco-brats doing in here!" His beady eyes caught sight of the fire ring; steam like smoke had filled risen to the ceiling of the cell that Toby was in.

Gawking and letting out a yelp and jumping backwards as a streak of fiery energy escaped through the bars of the cell and hit the floor, Rigger stared "That ring, it's gone crazy, it's gone crazy boss!" Moving out of the cross fire of where the energy was aiming, Greedily narrowed his eyes and raised his fist "What have you Planet brats been messing with this time!" Suddenly there was a loud crashing sound and the entire airship was sent sideways as if something had rammed against it, Greedily and Rigger were knocked clean off their feet, the Planeteers slid in the direction the airship leaned in, Toby was roughly pushed up against the cell bars from the impact of whatever it was that had hit the airship.

With a groan the large airship rolled back into its proper position; Dazed by the fall, Greedily got to his feet and let out a snort "What the heck was that!" Rigger had been about to respond but all that came out of his mouth was a cry of fear when a loud explosion rocked the atmosphere, the entire sky was lit with a bright reddish glow that shone through every single window that was occupying the airship, its blinding light forced the Planeteers to shield their eyes away entirely "What's happening!" Linka cried, unfortunately no one had an answer for her; There came a loud sizzling sound from the bars of the cells, smoke was rising off them and right before the Planeteers eyes, they melted at the top, the steel broke away and fell forwards coming to a crashing halt upon the airship floor, smoke was beginning to rise from the floor around Greedily and Rigger, their feet becoming hot the pair of them let out yelps and started dancing around on the spot "W-what's happening boss, what's happening!" Rigger cried as the souls of his rubber boots began melting.

With an expression of pure fear, Greedily wasn't about to stick around to find out, snorting he shoved Rigger out of the way and took off back to the pilot area "Get outta the way you idiot, I'm not sticking around to find out!" Taking a hold of the controls, he tried to steer the airship in the opposite direction but a loud rumbling noise erupted from above stopped him in his tracks, Rigger had made it back to the pilot section, somewhat out of breath "Watcha waitin for boss, let's move!" Back inside the cell, the Planeteers had all huddled together, now that the bars were gone Toby had managed to crawl into the cell with the others, Linka instantly wrapped her arms around him, resting a hand protectively over his head "Keep your head down Toby!" Screeching loudly, looking absolutely terrified Suchi had retreated inside Ma-Ti's jacket "Hold on my friends, everything will be alright!"

Another hit to the airship caused them to cry out, the sounds grew louder and the Planeteers had no idea if they were going to get out of this one alive; Closing his eyes tightly, holding the terrified six-year-old against her, Linka's thoughts were on nothing but Wheeler as she called desperately out to him within her mind _'Wheeler, Wheeler where are you, please we need you, Toby and I need you!' _In that precise moment, the rumbling stopped and a dead silence suddenly fell over the peaks of the mountains; Shivering from head to foot, heart racing Toby turned his gaze towards the window above the cells, for a split second it looked as everything was once again safe, back out in the pilot section, both Greedily and Rigger had retreated to hide under the controls desk, only poking their heads out the moment everything went quiet.

Swallowing hard, Rigger was the first to speak, his voice shaky "I-I think it's gone boss, I think it's gone..." no sooner as he spoke, the flames from before exploded all around the airship once more and as if appearing out of nowhere a large shadow flew over the ship, its long body twisted and rippled in a slithering like manner; Greedily and Rigger let out cries of fear and retreated back to their hiding space, while the Planeteers just stared, wide-eyed and mouths hanging open in pure shock at what it was they were seeing; "WHAT IS THAT!" Linka's voice was full of fear, having frozen in her arms Toby's green eyes went wide and he just stared in shock, mouth agape it was him who answered Linka's question "N-Nootau!"

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A/N: ANOTHER CLIFF HANGER! I could've of kept going, but I thought I better save some things for chapter seven, I thank those who took the time to read this chapter, since it's the longest so far in this entire story. It appears the Planeteers and Toby may yet be saved, but is this Nootau a goodie or a badie and what spirit is he exactly? Hm, only time will tell! xD


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